


TJ's Great Escape

by IIvy7208



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Content Warning: Thoreau Lionett Sr., Family, Found Family, Gen, Thoreau Lionett Sr. is a Shitty Father, Wedding Planning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:47:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 24,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24626470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IIvy7208/pseuds/IIvy7208
Summary: Beau is getting married and there’s only one member of her blood family she really wants to be there.TJ is learning all sorts of things about the sister he never got the chance to know.Thoreau Lionett Sr continues to drive his children away from him.
Relationships: Beauregard Lionett & Thoreau Lionett Jr., Beauregard Lionett/Yasha
Comments: 91
Kudos: 485





	1. The Invitation

**Author's Note:**

> For the first time in 10 years I'm writing Fanfiction, I guess that's what lockdown'll do to ya!  
> Massive thanks to Laura and Nadia for cheering me on <3

“Beeeeeau!!”

Beau was glad that she had asked Jester to be her maid of honour. Really she was. It was times like this she had to remind herself of that.

“Come on, Beau! Yasha gave us her list ages ago!”

“Yasha gave you a piece of paper with ‘The Mighty Nein’ and ‘Essek’ written on it.”

“That’s still a guest list! And you know more people than Yasha.”

“...”

“If you don’t tell me I’ll just have to guess! What about people from the Cobalt Soul? We could invite Dairon. The Bright Queen? Or that Allura lady from Tal Dorei?”

“Ugh,” Beau dropped down from the branch she had been using as a pull up bar. Caduceus’ rooftop garden had only become more dramatic over the years, ivy now trailed down over the sides of the tower and the flowers could be smelled throughout the whole neighborhood. “Fine, yes to Dairon if they’re about. I doubt anyone else from the Cobalt Soul would want to come. I guess we could ask Zeenoth too just in case. We can ask The Bright Queen and Allura but I wouldn’t hold my breath for them either. Uuuuh, we’d better invite Orly and the crew on the Ball Eater. Your mum and dad, obviously. And I guess Artagan should come too. Veth’s family, but I assume she’s already got them on the list.”

“See! This isn’t so hard is it?” Jester scribbled a note down in the corner of her sketchbook, “What about your family?”

“You guys are my family,” Beau replied, too quickly to be more than a deflection.

“You know what I mean, Beau. Do you want your parents at your wedding?”

“No.” The answer came easily and with less bitterness than it once would have. Time leads to understanding, but not always forgiveness. “I don’t want them ruining this for me. This is mine, and Yasha’s. They don’t get to have a part in it.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am. But...” Beau broke off with a sigh, “I dunno, it would be nice if TJ could come. My brother? I don’t know how I’d get him there without dad finding out though. He reads everyone's mail, you know?”

“Wellllllll…” Jester grinned, already reaching for her holy symbol, “I could always send him a message.”

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

Thoreau Junior lay on his bed, listening to the perpetual drizzle of Kamordah. You would think that at the age of 15 he was past the point of being sent to his room for messing up a sum. He flicked absently through the book he had picked up when his mother came to check on him, not really looking at the words.

“Hey TJ!”

Thoreau Junior flinched, leaping to his feet and wheeling around to find the source of the voice that continued echoing inside his head.

“I’m with your sister Beau, she wants to invite you to her wedding next month. Just you though. Don’t tell your dad, ‘kay?”

Thoreau Junior lowered himself onto his bed again, heart thudding a hundred miles an hour. He had heard of magics that could send messages over great distances but experiencing it suddenly and without warning was a whole other thing. The voice had sounded cheerful, excited and they said they were with his sister Beau? He should probably reply.

“You scared the shit out of me! I, um, I guess I’ll try and come. Thanks? Um, if Beauregard is there can you tell her...”

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Beau watched as Jester narrowed her eyes, listening to something only she could hear. Maybe this was a stupid idea, her dad had probably told TJ all kinds of things about her, he probably hated her too by now. She hadn’t seen him since he was about 2 and a few shitty birthday cards was hardly a foundation for a tight sibling bond. He’d never even written back.

“Ooooh,” Jester squealed suddenly, distracting Beau from her nervous pacing. “He says he’s going to try and come!! Also apparently I scared the shit out of him so I hope he wasn’t doing anything important when the message came through.”

“I doubt it Jessie, there’s nothing important to do in Kamordah.”


	2. The Critic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The joy of dinner in the Lionett household!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for Thoreau Lionett Sr being a shitty person this chapter (and in general)

Beauregard.

Thoreau Junior didn’t know a whole lot about his sister. His father often pretended he didn’t even have a sister and what snippets he had managed to glean from his mother told him that she was invited to join an order of monks in Zadash before he was even born. She’d only been home once since. Apparently he’d met her, but he hardly remembered.

“Junior! Come to dinner please!”

He had half a mind to ignore his mother and stay here. He knew going down there he’d just end up getting berated again. It wasn’t his fault he couldn’t do the inventory for his dad. He’d tried, he really had. It just seemed to take him five times longer than anyone else to get it done. Which wasn't good enough, apparently. And maybe he got distracted half way through adding it up and forgot to carry the 1. There was a cobweb on his face!

Weighing it up the consequences of missing dinner were probably worse than whatever torrent of verbal abuse he was in for so he may as well go. He dragged his feet down the stairs, making sure to scuff his shoes along the fancy carpet.

“Hurry up, boy.” There was Thoreau Senior, already seated at the head of the table, his mother at the other end as Jeanine buzzed around placing plates and drinks on a table that was far too big for three people. She snuck a wink to Thoreau Junior as she ducked back into the kitchen. TJ took the third plate, sliding it several feet down the table to sit in the seat nearest his mother. The lesser of the two evils at this juncture.

“Thank you for joining us, finally.” Thoreau Senior said with the air of a man who has been waiting five hours, rather than five minutes. “You will help Jeanine wash up tonight. Perhaps she can teach you to read a clock at the same time.”

“Yes, father.” TJ muttered, stabbing at his food. It appeared to be some kind of roasted bird.

“Don’t mutter, boy.”

“Yes, father. Sorry, father.” TJ said, as clear as he could before slumping over his food to eat as fast as he possibly could.

“Angus did inventory for us this afternoon,” Thoreau Senior began between mouthfuls of food. “Smart boy, that one. He’ll make chief stocksman before long, you mark my words.”

“That’s wonderful, darling. I’ll be sure to pass along to his mother how well he’s doing. She’s in my knitting circle.”

“A good head on his shoulders, that’s the problem with young people these days. No work ethic. They think being born into privilege means they don’t have to try.”

TJ gripped his knife and fork harder, if he could only get through dinner without incident he could go back to his room.

“You’ll be needed in the yard tomorrow, Junior. Daneth needs help loading the delivery cart. If you feel you can manage that.”

“Yes, sir.” By this point TJs food looked more like confetti, he hastily shovelled some into his mouth so he wouldn't have to comment further.

The rest of dinner passed in much the same way. He was sure the food was cooked to perfection, Jeanine had been with the family for as long as he could remember and she was an excellent cook.

As Thoreau Senior finally finished eating and excused himself from the table TJ let out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding.

“How was your day, honey?” His mother turned towards him finally, smiling encouragingly.

“Dad had me taking inventory again.”

“Oh, honey. I…”

“Are you done with your plate?” TJ stood up abruptly, chair scraping across the flagstones almost too loud to his own ears. He could hear the blood thumping in his ears as he picked up his own half finished plate in a shaking hand.

“I… yes, I’m finished. Thank you.”

TJ snatched up her plate along with his fathers and all but stormed into the kitchen with them, depositing them with a crash into the sink. He gripped the edge of the sink taking deep breaths and trying to suppress the urge to punch a wall. When a hand fell on his shoulder he almost jumped out of his skin.

“You okay, Junior?” It was just Janine, no doubt called by the sound of smashing crockery in her sink, TJ looked down into the water now full of shards of china.

“I think I broke a plate.” he sighed. Just add it to this weeks list of fuck ups.

“Never mind, we’ll get it cleaned up in no time.”

“But-”

“He’ll never notice, do you know how many fancy plates we have? We could have the whole of Kamordah over for dinner and still have bowls left over for desert!”

“Janine, you’re a lifesaver.” TJ started scooping the shards of plate out of the water, dropping them all into a potato sack Janine dug out of the pantry.

“Hey, Janine?” TJ asked hesitantly. He’d been weighing up and he couldn’t think of anyone else he could ask.

“Yeah?”

“What do you know about my sister?”

There was a clatter of plate shards as Janine dropped the bag, glancing quickly over her shoulder towards the door.

“Why do you ask?”

“I dunno, I’ve just been wondering. Dad doesn’t talk about her and mum just gets uncomfortable if I bring her up.”

Janine sighed, crossing to the kitchen door and throwing the bolt across, then dropping onto one of the grain barrels, shoving another one towards TJ with her foot. He sat, curious.

“I only met her once. She rocked up one afternoon when you were about 2 with a group of friends. Weird friends, there was a goblin and I think one of them was blue. She was here maybe half an hour, had a talk with your dad and left.”

“Was that when I met her? Mum said I’d met her once, but I don’t remember it.”

“That was then, she gave you that necklace.”

“This one?” TJ fished the little green pendant out of the front of his shirt, “And Dad let me keep it?”

“You were 2,” Janine shrugged, “and it was the only one we could get you to wear. You know how he gets about protective amulets, I guess that won out over his desire to remove every trace of his daughter from the house.” There was a note of disdain in Janine’s voice, TJ appreciated that. “But listen, Junior. I’m telling you this cause you’re a big boy now and I think everyone should know their family. But if your dad finds out I even mentioned her in this house…”

“Understood. Not a word.”

“Thanks. Now get going, I’m gonna get rid of these old potatoes.” She winked at TJ, scooping up the bag of plate shards as she levered herself off the barrel.


	3. The Letters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoreau Sr. continues to be a shitty person...

“Put your back into it, Junior!” Daneth was a beefy Dwarf often hired by the Lionett Vineyard to deliver shipments of wine to wealthy clients on the Menagerie Coast. “Come on, I want to hit the road before sundown!”

TJ gritted his teeth, hefting the next crate of wines carefully into his arms and onto the cart. He stooped down to grab the next one as Daneth rolled his eyes and turned back to talking to Thoreau Senior who cast a disdainful eye over his son before fixing his business smile back into place.

Five crates later TJ was sweating and red faced but finally finished.

“About time too!”

“Junior, fetch the gate key for us. It should be upstairs on my desk.”

“Yes, dad.” TJ shook out his aching arms and set off towards the house at a jog, glad of an excuse to step out of the drizzle for a moment.

His father's office was on the second floor overlooking the vineyards at the back of the house. The place was so neat and tidy that he almost felt bad stomping through it in his outside boots. Almost. Stepping onto the plush red carpet he felt a little like a naughty child, he had never been allowed in this room when he was young and even now he had been ordered into it he still felt a little bit like he was breaking the rules. He crossed quickly to the large mahogany desk set in the middle of the room, his father's large winged chair looking back at him. Stupid, he thought, why choose the room overlooking the vineyards as your office and then place your desk so you can never look out over them. The surface of the desk was also incredibly tidy, the surface containing two small stacks of paper and a jade statuette of an owl along with a large quill and ink pot and nothing else. No gate key.

Shit. He walked quickly around the desk, pulling one of the top drawers open. More quills, spare ink. No key. He tried the next drawer. Blank order forms. No key. He pulled open the final drawer, this one seemed slightly less organised, a collection of jade figurines, and a haphazard collection of envelopes. TJ pulled the envelopes out, wondering if the key might have fallen underneath them, flipping them over to absently glance at the address of the top one as he did so.

TJ Lionett  
Lionette Vineyard  
Kamordah

He quickly flicked through the stack, 13 envelopes in all, most in varying shades of green and all addressed to him. Why had he never seen these before?

“Junior!”

He jumped about a foot as he heard his father shout his name up the stairs, smacking his head on the underside of the desk. Rubbing at the sore spot he quickly shoved the envelopes back into the drawer and looked desperately around the room for the gate key. He spied it finally sitting on top of a cabinet by the door, he must have walked right past it.

“Coming!” He shouted back, grabbing up the key and running back down the stairs. “Found it!” He panted, skidding to a halt at the door.

“Thankyou” Thoreau said curtly, snatching the key from his hand and striding away to let the cart out of the gate. “Have a wash, Junior. You’re terribly sweaty.”

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

TJ lay in his bed that night, listening again to the rain against the window, the usual drizzle had graduated to a full storm and his dad had spent the evening lamenting the danger to his grape crop. TJ thought that rain was good for plants but apparently there was such a thing as too much rain. Not that that would keep him awake, he grew up in Kamordah, rain was nothing new. It was the green envelopes that were plaguing his mind. Why were they addressed to him? Who had sent them? His father seemed determined to hide them from him, could they be something to do with Beauregard?

Sleep wasn’t happening, so instead he rolled over to the edge of the bed and pried up the loose floorboard under the bed. He had only found the hiding place a few years ago, but this room had been Beauregards before him. When he first found it it had contained half a bottle of Lionett wine, which had long since taken on the appearance and taste of vinegar, a length of rope with a loop at one end and knots tied in it at regular intervals, and a notebook full of unintelligible scribbles. TJ assumed it was some kind of code but he couldn’t even begin to understand how to crack it, so it had remained beneath the floorboard along with a few things of his own. A dagger he had traded with one of the kids in the village and 7 gold pieces he had managed to gather over the years. He fished out the notebook, flicked through it as he had a hundred times wondering what it all meant. Was it a diary? He couldn’t think what else it could be.

There were footsteps in the hallway, the opening and closing of a door. Thoreau had gone to bed, he could go to the office and look at the letters. If he was careful. It was stupid, if he was caught he’d be skinned alive. But the curiosity was almost burning him. He had to know.

He waited another twenty minutes, until the footsteps from the room across the hall died down and he was as sure as he could be that both of his parents were asleep. He then slid out of bed, sneaking barefoot to the door and easing it open, wincing as the hinge creaked, freezing for a moment. When there seemed to be no more movement from the rest of the house he set off shuffling down the hall towards his father's office. Every step sounding like thunder to his ears, every creak sure to draw his father from his room. He passed the top of the stairs gingerly, now he couldn’t even use a late night toilet trip as an excuse. If he was caught now he’d be in for it. There would be shouting for sure, maybe worse.

Then all at once he was outside the office, if he felt guilty stepping through the door when ordered he felt positively lightheaded doing it now, in the dead of night with no excuse whatsoever. He should just go back to bed. He should have picked them up earlier when he had the chance. Suddenly that late night toilet trip doesn’t sound like such a bad idea…

He pushed the door open.

The office was exactly as he had left it, he felt an absurd burst of petty joy to see the muddy footprints now dried into the carpet. He’d probably be made to scrub them out later but still. He crossed quickly to the desk, ducking behind it and trying to slow his panicked breathing. The drawer was right there, he pulled it out as slowly and quietly as he could. There they were, 13 green envelopes bound together with a length of string and shoved out of sight. He slipped them into the pocket of his housecoat, flinching as a roll of thunder and a flash of lightning. Back to bed, as fast as possible.

He slipped out of the room, turning to quietly shut the door behind him.

“Thoreau Junior. What do you think you’re doing?”

TJ lept about a foot in the air, spinning around and shoving one hand into the pocket containing the letters. The other end of the hallway stood Thoreau Senior with a face like thunder.

“Dad! I… I um…”

“Who told you you could go into my office?”

“No-one but I.. um.”

“Then I trust there is a very good reason why you are sneaking around in the dead of night.”

“Yes! I.. uh.” TJ cast around wildly for an excuse, one hand flying to his jade pendant, a gift from his sister, apparently. “I dropped my jade pendant earlier, when I was looking for the gate key.”

A brief flicker of fear seemed to cross Thoreau’s face and TJ knew he had struck gold.

“Yeah, I know how you don’t like me to be without it so I thought I had better look for it as soon as I realised.”

“Well then, back to bed with you. And don’t be so careless with it in future.”

“Of course not, sorry father.” TJ let out a breath, hurrying back to his room and slamming the door behind him.


	4. The Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TJ learns some things.

It was another three hours before TJ felt safe fishing the letters out of his pocket and looking at them, he carefully slid the bolt closed on his door before untying the string with slightly shaky fingers and laying them out across his bedspread. The final envelope appeared to have been opened before so he started there. He slid a folded piece of paper out, flipping it over to reveal a big number 3 in green ink. Inside was written a message in more green ink, the handwriting somewhat sloppy but legible said:

To TJ,  
Happy Birthday, little man.  
Hope you have a good one, I’m working on making the world a safer place for you so your job is to enjoy it, ok?  
Love  
Beau x

It was a birthday card. It didn’t take a genius to work out what the other 12 must be too. He grabbed the next envelope, carefully ripping it open to find another card. This one had a number 4 on the front in green ink and another message inside:

Dear TJ,  
Sorry I haven’t gotten out to see you this year, I’ve been off fighting the bad guys for you again.   
Happy Birthday, little man!  
Love  
Beau x

She had sent him birthday cards. Every year since the first time they met. He ripped through the next few cards. One with a big green 5. A 6. “My friend has been helping her God with his followers” or “I borrowed Jester's glitter supply for this one so it’s extra sparkly. If you shake it on the nice carpet you can really annoy dad and blame it on me.” or “Hit me up if you ever want a break from the folks.” Some of the envelopes had things in them, a shiny button that she claimed belonged to Buttonbeard the pirate, or a dried up seahorse she found on the beach in Nicodranas. A Blue Dragon scale.

TJ was surprised when a drop of wet hit the card marked with a 10, for a moment wondering if the rain had finally made it through the roof, and even more surprised to realise he was crying. Hot tears running down his face and he wasn’t even sure if they were tears of sorrow or rage. She- Beau- his sister had wanted to know him, and he’d never known. Never been allowed to know. There was a return address on the back of some of the cards, he could have written to her. And despite not having heard back from him she still wanted him at her wedding.

Well that decided it. Come hell or high water he was going to be at that wedding. He ripped open the final card, the one he should have been given this year.

Dear TJ,  
15, huh? Where does the time go?  
I’m sorry I missed you growing up, but you’re older now so maybe you’ll understand why I couldn’t come back to that house. I only hope your life there has been better than mine was.  
Happy Birthday, little man! I hope I see you someday soon.  
Love,  
Beau x  
P.S. I’m planning on proposing to my girlfriend, Yasha, next week. Wish me luck!  
P.P.S. Jester caught me writing this and wants me to tell you hi. The dick drawings were all her.

And indeed TJ found no less than 15 dicks drawn in creative places around the card.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The return address on the envelope, TJ quickly realised, was for the Cobalt Soul archive in Zadash which seemed like a good enough place to start. If nothing else he might be able to learn a bit more about his sister. Getting there could be a problem though, Zadash was generally considered a 4 day trip from Kamordah. On a horse. When you know the way.

So he bided his time. Next time his father sent him with a stack of order forms down to the Mudfields he stopped off in the general store and picked up a map, tipping the shopkeeper an extra gold to pretend he hadn’t seen him.

“More generous tipper than your sister ever was.” The old halfling behind the counter grinned, shoving the gold into his pocket.

“Beau? You knew her?”

“Yeah, scrappy little kid she was. Used to pay extra for long handled spoons cause I figured out she was making them into lock picks to get at your daddy’s stash of wine!”

“And he didn’t kill her?”

“Don’t think she cared. She had some guts, I’ll tell you that. This place got a lot less interesting once the monks came and carted her off.”

“Carted her off? I thought she left.”

“That's what they told you, lad?” The old halfling smiled a sad smile, “P’raps I shouldn’t’ve said anything.”

“No, you should. Please, tell me what happened?”

“Well I was bringing in stock from the delivery cart when the monks showed up, you know how folk are around here with strangers so we all watched them pass, me and Arin followed them up. Just out of curiosity you understand. Waltzed straight into the Lionett Vineyard, cool as you please. Next thing we hear screaming, shouting. She had a hell of a pair of lungs on her when she wanted, your sister. That was nothing new, but then the door is open and that bastard Thoreau..sorry.”

“No, no. He is. Please, continue?”

“Well he slaps young Beauregard across the face and sends her sprawling in the mud. Musta hit hard too, her lip were bleeding when they dragged her through the street and off to the capital. All credit to her, though. She screamed at him the whole length of the town.”

“He… He slapped her?”

“You okay, lad? Sorry to spring this on you, seems like it was news?”

“Yeah, you could say that. Thank you.” he said, keeping his voice incredibly even despite the blood thumping in his ears again. “At least someone in this town will tell me the truth.”

He left the store, storming blindly towards home, fists clenching and unclenching against the hot wave of anger ready to suffocate him. He reached the gate of the vineyard with it’s stupid, pretentious archway as the rage finally bubbled over. He threw his clenched fist into the archway again and again until he could feel his knuckles split. Beating all of his outrage and anger into the white stone, watching the pale surface smudged with red. Then as soon as it had come the anger subsided, leaving him breathing heavily. His hand gave an angry throb and he quickly shoved it in his pocket, storming into the house and up to his room. He was half way up the stairs before he registered his mother's voice.

“Junior. It’s dinner time, come to the table please.”

Dinner time. He stumped back down the stairs, turning into the dining room where his father sat, calmly sipping his wine. Glancing up as TJ entered.

“Ah, Junior. What kept you so long?”

TJ wanted to slap the stupid look of his face. But the hot wave of rage had ebbed now, and mostly what he wanted to do was get far away from him. So he walked over to the table, picked up his plate of food (fish tonight) and began to leave the room.

“Where do you think you’re going? Be- I mean Junior.”

“Beauregard, were you going to say?” TJ asked, glancing over his shoulder. Thoreau Senior sat there, looking as though he’d seen a ghost.

“Thoreau Junior, you sit and eat with the family or you do not eat.”

“Fine.” TJ set his plate back on the table and left.

TJ reached his room, half expecting to hear heavy footfalls following him up the stairs. He immediately threw the bolt across on his door and pulled his new map out from where he had rolled it up in his trouser leg. 4 days to Zadash. Just 4. Or maybe 5 if he couldn’t get a horse. Gods help him.


	5. The Final Straw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thoreau Lionett's finest hour (by which I mean he's a terrible person. Again. Shocker!)

“I dunno, Veth, just get a load of chairs and then when everyone’s sat down take away the empty ones?”

“I mean, sure. That would work. Next on the list: Flowers.”

“Yasha’s call. She’s the one carrying them, I’m perfectly happy to be surprised by what she chooses.”

“Ok,” Veth made a note on an alarmingly long scroll of parchment, “Next up, pyrotechnics!”

“You want to make explosions at our wedding?” Beau took the excitement in Veths eyes as an affirmative. “That could be pretty dope, actually. As long as you’re sure it won’t blow up the guests. Dairon could probably handle it but if Luc is gonna be in the front row…”

“No, no, no! Yeza and I have been working on it and you know he’s the more safety conscious of the two of us.”

“In that case go for it!”

“Yes!” Veth leaned back in her chair to yell around the door frame, “Honey! She said yes to Fluffernutter 3.0!!”

A small cheer echoed in from the Happy Room.

“I’m already regretting this. Remind me why I have to do the wedding planning list and not Yasha?”

“Because Molly took her dress shopping today.”

“And you can’t do it tomorrow because….”

“Why would I when you’re here today!?”

“Right… Remind me why we named you wedding planner?”

“Because I’m the only one of us who has actually been to and had a wedding before, other than Yasha. But she’s a bride so…”

“Uuuuuuugh, fine. What else is on the list?”

Veth unravelled another foot of her list. Beau resisted the urge to slide under the table and hide.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“Junior?” There was a soft tapping at the door to TJs bedroom. Mum. “Junior, are you okay in there?”

TJ took a deep breath and crossed to the door, poking just his head out of the crack. His mother stood there, bowl in hand, glancing nervously back towards the office. TJ stood back to let her in, shutting and rebolting the door behind him.

“What happened, sweetie?” She handed him the bowl, it was full of warm porridge but he just stirred it around.

“I got talking to Denny from the shop on my way home, he told me about the day Beau left.”

His mother’s face dropped in horror. “I don’t know what he told you, but Beauregard was a difficult child. I’m sure it looked terrible when…”

“When she was taken away by monks? When dad slapped her and threw her off the front step?”

“Please, Junior. Don’t mention this to your father. He’s already stressed about the reduced grape yield this year and he doesn’t like to talk about it.”

“I know, that’s why I had to learn about it from the fucking shopkeeper. She’s my sister, I want to know.”

“It’s all so far in the past, Junior. It hardly matters now. Please, just let it go.” There were tears in her eyes now, he didn’t think he’d ever seen his mother cry. 

“Yeah, ok, I’ll drop it around dad.”

“Thank you.” She wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her dress, “I’ll, um, I’ll leave you to it then. Just… eat your porridge before it goes cold. Jeanine was worried that you hadn’t eaten dinner.”

And with that she ducked out of the room, glancing up and down the corridor as she went. TJ stood up to bolt the door behind her.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

TJ woke the next morning to more knocking on the door. This time louder and accompanied by shouting.

“Thoreau Junior, get out here now. You were expected in the yard an hour ago to unload the new shipment of bottles. Every minute they have to wait for you is gold down the drain.”

TJ blearily blinked his eyes open. First Folsen of the month, in his anger the night before he had totally forgotten it was New Bottle Day. He rolled out of bed with a groan, almost stepping in his half finished bowl of porridge and stumbled over to the door which was still shaking as Thoreau pounded on it from the other side.

“Junior!”

“I’m up, I’m up! Why didn’t you get one of the other guys to unload it if it’s that big a deal.”

“Unloading the bottles is your responsibility, Junior. I had hoped you would step up and at least pretend you’re grateful to be my son.”

“Grateful?” Something snapped, then. TJ felt his carefully maintained control crumble. “You know what, get Angus to unload the cart this month. I’m sure I’d only do it wrong anyway.”

The bolt rattled as Thoreau threw his fist against the door again. TJ flinched, he had always wondered why that bolt was so creaky and bent.

“Fine, but this is not over, young man. You are going to have to learn to contribute to this business one way or another.”

TJ listened to his footsteps recede down the stairs before diving under the bed and pulling everything out from under Beaus floorboard. A map of the Marrow Valley and Zemni Fields, 13 birthday cards, a dagger he traded for with a kid in the village, 5 gold, a book he couldn’t read and a rope full of knots. He bundled them all up in his blanket, along with a change of clothes, then rethought and dug the dagger out, sticking that through his belt instead. His work boots were probably the best for walking in, and his raincoat would probably be useful until he could get away from the Kamordah rain. He grabbed a couple of books and added them to the bundle. Maybe an extra sweater?

There was commotion in the yard under his window, TJ peered out to see the bottle cart pulling away, still full of bottles. Apparently Thoreau hadn’t found someone to unload it fast enough. He was gonna get it for that, he had to get out of here.

Footsteps on the stairs again, he quickly dragged his clothes chest in front of the door. Not a moment too soon as the thumping resumed with a vengeance.

“I hope you’re happy now, boy. I’m going to have to pay them to come back tomorrow now. I hope you enjoyed your selfish little rebellion.”

TJ said nothing, pulling the dagger from his belt and laying it across his knees, looking back into his own blue eyes in the reflection.

“Just wait until I get my hands on you, you can’t hide in there forever.”

The pounding stopped and TJ heard stomping footsteps moving away from the room and returning a moment later. There was a loud scraping at the door and for one wild moment TJ wondered if he had gone to fetch a shovel and hack the door open.

“You want to stay holed up in there? Fine. Rot there for all I care.” The footsteps left again and TJ distantly heard his father shouting at someone in the yard a minute later. He crossed to the door, opening the battered bolt, and tried to push the door open as quietly as possible. Before it had opened more than an inch it bumped into something solid and heavy, no matter how he shoved he couldn’t open it farther. He tried to peer up the corridor, catching sight of shadows moving just beyond his limited range of vision.

“Mum!”

Clara Lionett stepped into the sliver of corridor he could see.

“Oh Junior, why didn’t you just go and unload the cart?”

“What!? What do you mean why didn’t I unload the cart? I overslept! It’s not my fault he’d rather set me up to fail than ask Angus to unload the cart for once!”

“I’m sure he’ll cool off eventually. But it might help if you apologise.”

“Apologise!? He’s locked me in, Mum. I’ll apologise when he does.”

“You know he doesn’t apologise.”

“Well I guess I’d better get busy rotting then.” TJ slammed the crack in the door closed, trying hard not to feel guilty. How could she defend him after that? He had to get out of here. There had to be a way.

TJ paced his room for hours, there was the window but that was a drop onto stone, the layer of mud over it wouldn’t do a lot to break his fall. He could try the door but moving whatever he had shoved in front of it seemed futile and he certainly couldn’t do it quietly.  
Dusk came, he heard his father leave the office, walk into the bedroom, bark at his mother to follow.

He heard footsteps leave the bedroom again.

“I’ll be right back, darling. I just remembered I left the wine bottle uncorked.”

A frantic tapping at the door, TJ considered ignoring it but…

“Junior, please.”

He crossed to the door, opening it a crack, meeting eye to eye with his mother peering through from the other side.

“Here,” she shoved what seemed to be a potato sack through the gap, “I know Beauregard used to escape that room somehow. Just. Be safe, and maybe write?”

“Mum…”

“Shhhh. Just, your father is a very great man. He’s achieved a lot in his life. But misery hangs over this household, Beauregard knew it too. I’m only glad she seemed to find purpose with the monks and her friends. I hope you can do the same someday. I love you.”

And with that she was gone, the door snapping shut in TJs face. He looked inside the potato sack. A bundle of bacon, probably from the dinner he missed and a small leather coin purse. He haphazardly stuffed the rest of his things into the sack. Apparently Beau figured out a way to escape this room, she must have used the window. He grabbed the length of rope, looking again at the loop tied into the end. At one point he had wondered if she was planning to hang herself on it, but the loop was too small to fit a head through. It might, however, fit over one of the bedknobs. He tried it, the fit was snug, it wouldn’t slide off, and the bed was wrought iron, easily capable of holding up a wiry human teenager. He could really do this.

The rope, he had to hand it to Beau, was excellently tied, the end resting barely an inch off the ground in the courtyard below. Judging by the spot where the windowsill had been repainted it had been used a lot. TJ looped his sack over his shoulder, double checked that his dagger was secure in his belt and started the climb down.

Instantly this was harder than it looked, TJ was not a regular rope climber and it swayed every time he shifted his weight to move down. The weight of his bag throwing him off as it threatened to slide off his shoulder every time he moved that arm. He was almost down level with the bottom floor window when he heard footsteps in the yard below. Shit. He’d forgotten the security guards. He froze, hanging in mid air against the wall, hoping against hope they wouldn’t spot him.

“Oi!”

Shit.

“What do you think you’re… Junior?”

“Sssssssh. Please, I’m not breaking in. I’m breaking out.”

“Well…” 

“And your job is to keep people out, right? Not keep them in.”

“I suppose so…”

“I’ll give you a gold to say you didn’t see me?”

“Oooh whole gold! I can finally retire!”

“Please.” TJ held out the gold anyway, perfectly sure his desperation showed on his face.

“Oh, go on. Get out of here kid.” The guard plucked the coin out of his fingers and stood aside.

“Thank you.” TJ sighed, taking off at a jog towards the front gate, he didn’t have the key but he was perfectly willing to climb over the fence.

“About 5 feet to the right of the gate there’s a tree Beauregard and her friend used to climb to get out.” The guard whispered after him in the dark. TJ waved his thanks, soon finding that the guard was exactly right, this tree was much easier than trying to climb the smooth stone wall.

TJ stepped out into the street, heading south out of the town. If his map was right the road there should go through the Bromkiln Hills and end up in Zadash. Eventually. At this point being murdered on the road was probably preferable to turning around and going home. He hitched his sack higher on his shoulder and just walked, hardly noticing the drizzle.


	6. The Road

“Carnations?”

“Yes, dark red ones. Caduceus grows them for tea but they’re also very pretty.”

“That works for me. Is he okay to grow them in time?”

“I think he’s rather looking forward to it. Maybe he can brew my bouquet into tea at the reception after.” There was a twinkle in Yasha’s eye that told Beau she was kidding, but she still wouldn’t put it past their Firbolg friend to do just that if he thought anyone was getting too stressed.

“You’re sure we can’t just elope tomorrow and skip all the organising?” Yasha knew Beau was kidding, both of them were looking forward to an excuse to gather all their friends together again. Fjord had been away at sea for months now and with the Brenattos finally buying property down in Nicodranas the Xorhaus was feeling a lot quieter these days.

Having said that, the chimes over the door rang out merrily and Beau raised her head from its place in Yasha’s lap to greet the newcomer. Caleb waved an arm, barely raising his head from the book he was reading from but Frumpkin leapt from his shoulder to jump onto Beaus' stomach.

“Oof, hey Caleb. Oh! Hey Essek!” The drow followed Caleb through the door, floating past the threshold before dropping to the floor and throwing his outer cloak onto the coat stand in the hallway.

“Afternoon Beauregard, Yasha. No time to stop I’m afraid, we’re only here to raid the herb garden.”

“Don’t let Caduceus catch you!”

Caleb pulled a face, surfacing from his book. “Not after last time.”

“Wizards.” Beau rolled her eyes, reclining back into Yasha’s lap and making a noise of protest as she reached to scritch Frumpkin rather than continuing to play with Beau’s hair.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Outside of the Town of Kamordah the road was dark, clouds blotted out the moons for 95% of the year around here anyway and TJ quickly found himself struggling with his human eyes. He cursed himself for not bringing a lantern, or even a candle. He was close to giving up when he saw a light a little way further down the road. Slipping slightly on the wet rock he scrambled a little closer. It seemed to be a roadside camp, one man sat beside the fire, hood pulled up against the weather, while his fellows slept, TJ could make out a couple laid out under a wagon and judging by the snoring he could hear from within there were others. TJ watched the man by the fire carefully, he didn’t seem particularly dangerous. He had a shortsword laid across his lap but he otherwise seemed relatively well dressed, a warm fur cloak pulled around his shoulders against the cold.

“Hey!” And he was standing up, pointing his sword towards TJ, he seemed to squint into the darkness and TJ realised he was human too. “Step into the light now, y’hear. I don’t want no funny business.”

TJ threw up his hands, shuffling into the fragile shell of light cast by the campfire.

“Ah, you’re just a kid. What the hells you doing sneaking up on a guy in the dark? You looking to get stabbed?” He stuck the end of his shortsword into the soft ground, still within reach.

“No, sorry. I was just wondering about the light. I’m a bit lost, I think. I’m trying to get to Zadash.”

“Nah, you’re still on the right road. Wouldn’t go walking it alone in the dark though. Too dangerous, and I should know.”

“Yeah? Sorry, I’m a bit new at this.”

“Aw hells, come and sit down then, kid. At least you won’t get murdered tonight.”

TJ dropped hesitantly onto the log the other side of the fire from the man, not entirely trusting this suddenly kind stranger.

“You know, me and the lads used to roam around these parts robbing people.”

TJ held his sack closer to himself. The man chuckled.

“This was over ten years back, don’t worry. But that’s how I know it’s not a good idea to go wandering around here in the dark.”

“What do you guys do now then?”

“Fur traders. Catch ‘em, Skin ’em, Tan ‘em and Sell ‘em. Any other useful bits they got, venom sacks or good teeth we sell them too.”

“Huh,” TJ yawned against his better judgement, “Sounds kind of fun actually.”

“Keeps us going. Look, why don’t you grab some shut eye, I’ll make sure you’re awake before we head off into Kamordah.”

“No, it’s fine. I..” TJ trailed off into another yawn.

“What, were you gonna walk all 4 days to Zadash without any sleep? You gotta sleep sometime, may as well be while there’s a fine upstanding former criminal to watch over you.”

TJ couldn’t tell if he was joking but the firelight was making him sleepy. “What’s your name?”

“Zenny, what’s yours?”

“Th- uh TJ” TJ settled against the log, hugging his arms and legs around his meagre possessions.

“Get some sleep TJ.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact!  
> Dark red carnations (as far as I've been able to research) represent deep love and affection.


	7. The Trade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TJ learns the hard way why most people travel in groups.

“Hey kid! TJ!”

TJ woke to his shoulder being shaken by a large green hand. He flinched away, immediately scrambling backwards, grabbing his sack of belongings.

“Easy, kid.” The half orc who has woken him grinned, raising his hands, “Just wondered if you wanted some breakfast before we all hit the road?”

TJ sniffed the air, he smelled fresh cooked bacon and now he was looking around there seemed to be a mix of about 6 people all milling about eating and chatting. He spotted Zenny from the night before who offered him a wave and gestured towards where a slightly battered pan was sizzling with three crispy strips of bacon. 

“Oh. Yes, please. I have money if…”

“You keep your money, lad. I’m sure we can spare you three strips of bacon.”

“Speak for yourself.” a dwarven man stomped past grumbling under his breath.

“Ignore him, he’s an ass.” The half orc called towards the retreating dwarf who flipped him off over his shoulder. The half orc laughed.

TJ leaned forward, snagging the bacon from the pan. It was slightly too hot and crisped way more than Jeanine ever dared and it was the best thing TJ had ever tasted. He finished the final strip and wiped his greasy fingers in his trouser leg as the group were hitching their horses.

“We’re about to head out. Take care of yourself on the road, kid. Not every band of former bandits is as nice as us!” Zenny tipped him a wink as he clambered into the driving seat of the cart. TJ gathered his belongings, waiting until the group was out of sight to double check but everything was still there.

With nary a glance backwards TJ set off down the road, it was still misty and damp, but every step seemed to be getting closer and closer to the patch of blue sky he could see on the horizon. Now he could see the path ahead, it wound between the Bromkiln Hills for as far as he could see, but occasionally as the path crested a hill he could swear he could see buildings far to the horizon. 

By sun down his feet were aching, his shoulder was sore from holding up his bag and he was fairly sure he could keel over and sleep in the nearest hedgerow. It had stopped raining a couple of hours ago and for the first time in probably years he could see the first moon rising. He had passed a couple of convoys headed into Kamordah, pulling the hood of his overcoat up each time just in case his father sent people after him. He half expected a hand on his shoulder any moment, dragging him home. Would his mother tell Thoreau what had happened? Would the guard? Zenny and his friends? When he could walk no further TJ ducked off the path into a small thicket of trees. This had to be better than sleeping within sight of the road, right? And the trees would shelter him if it started raining again. He gripped his dagger in one hand, curling once again around his bag to try and sleep.

Tired though he was, sleep did not come easy this night. Hyper aware of the fact he was more alone now than he had ever been before, every sound made him look around, even when the night had become too dark to see.

He must have dozed off at some point because he was woken in what appeared to be the early hours of the morning by a low guttural growl somewhere near his head. He froze, fingers closing around air. He had let go of his dagger at some point in the night. He tried to feel around to find it but whatever this beast was seemed to hear him, it rounded on him and he felt the breath knocked out of him as it landed on his chest, pinning him and snarling in his face. 

No. No, he was not going to have walked this far to be eaten by some sort of animal. He refused. TJ snarled right back at the beast and as it lunged down towards him and he came up to meet it.

There was a sickening crack as he headbutted it and the beast backed off with a whimper and a snarl, rounding for a better jump. TJ scrambled to his feet, finally glancing down to snatch his dagger from in amongst the leaves and getting a good look at his foe. He shook his head against the fuzzing of his vision, focusing instead on the wolf now lunging for him again.

He jumped aside, stabbing wildly towards the heaving mass of fur, almost surprised when he felt it actually hit and the wolf yelp again as a fresh gout of blood covered TJs hand. TJ laughed, the sound seeming unhinged to his own ears, he squared up again, lunging towards the wolf watching it dodge and weave. Then all at once it jumped and TJ threw up his arms to protect his face.

There was a sickening yelp and the wolf went limp, TJs dagger through it’s throat. TJ shoved it off. Panting, covered in blood and the pain in his head only increasing as he stood and let the sudden adrenaline leech out of his body. He stooped to grab his bag and staggered out to the road, almost directly into a cart wheel which flew past inches from his face, pulling to a halt.

“TJ? By all the gods, what happened?”

For one wild moment TJ was sure it was his father here to drag him back to Kamordah and lock him back in his room, but then there was a hand on his shoulder and Zenny’s face swum into view.

“Wolf. There was a wolf. I killed it! Somehow.” TJ realised he was swaying slightly on his feet.

Heavy feet hit the ground, some of them running back into the trees but lighter footsteps came up to TJ, a small, cool hand rested for a moment against his face and he winced slightly as the skin began to knit back together. He raised a hand to feel what now seemed like week old cuts.

“Thankyou.”

“Don’t mention it,” said the Halfling responsible, already tucking an iron holy symbol back beneath his shirt.

“This is impressive, lad!” TJ recognised the half orc from the morning before, now hefting the wolf carcass over one shoulder. “Most of the teeth are shattered, but the pelt is decent. Only a couple of holes. We could get decent skins off this.”

“Hey! That’s mine, I killed it!” said TJ indignantly.

“True enough, it is. How about a trade?” Zenny suggested, winking over at the half orc.

“Alright. You can have the wolf but… but I get to ride with you back to Zadash.”

“Sounds fair to me.” Zenny stuck out his hand, grasping TJs and shaking it. “Hop aboard. I’m sure Yam will take issue with it but no-one listens to him anyway!”

“I heard that!” came a familiar dwarven voice.


	8. The Bad Luck Bandits

Life on the road was easier with company, TJ quickly learned. Safer and more comfortable too. Even if it is crammed in a cart with five other people and a dead wolf which they seemed to be skinning on the road.

“Can’t afford to wait for it to get too gooey.” The half orc that TJ learned was called Don had explained. “If we get the pelt off now we can scrape it and put it over the fire this evening.”

TJ was sure it was a good idea, he just tried not to look too hard at it.

“Cor, watch out for the bumps would you, Zenny? Don’t want any holes in this one.”

Zenny merely clicked his tongue at the horse and ignored him.

The group did indeed dry the pelt over the fire that night, while regaling TJ with stories of their life as travellers. Apparently they had been bandits for many a year before meeting someone they called the Purple Devil. TJ privately wondered how drunk they had been during this particular meeting but he listened anyway.

“What about you, TJ. Where are you from?” called Alvyyn, the Halfling, across the fire. TJ felt himself shrink under the gaze of the group.

“Well, I’m from Kamordah. My family grows wine. Or, grapes anyway. To make wine.”

“Poor kid.”

“I don’t care how fancy the grapes are, Kamordah is where joy goes to die. Whole place smells like misery.”

“Tell me about it!” TJ grinned, “My dad is basically the biggest grower in town and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him properly smile.”

“Biggest grower in town, huh? Could we be talking to the heir to the Lionett Vineyard?”

TJ felt his entire face heat up.

“Man, that guy always gives me the creeps.”

“So what’s a rich boy like you doing all the way out here?”

“Yam!” three different voices admonished as one.

“What? I’m just asking! What if he’s running from the law or something?”

“Actually. I’m going to my sister’s wedding.” said TJ proudly

“Wedding, eh? Your parents not invited?”

“No,” TJ snorted, “they don’t exactly get along with my sister.”

“Oh?”

“They threw her out before I was even born. Had her kidnapped by monks. My dad slapped her and threw her off the doorstep.” TJ realised the stick he had been poking the fire with was now a pile of kindling by his feet. He hadn’t even noticed he was snapping it.

“You’re not planning to go home after the wedding, are ya lad?”

“Not if I can help it. No.”

“Works for me! I’m turning in, someone give me a shove later if I need to take a watch.” Yam hauled himself to his feet, stomping over to the cart. He clapped TJ on the shoulder as he passed.

“My word, TJ. You seem to have won over the infamous Wilyam!” Don grinned at him across the fire.

“I heard that!”

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

TJ was woken at some point late in the night by Yam shoving his shoulder.

“Oi, keep an eye out for five minutes will you. I gotta go take a slash.”

“Hm, yeah okay.”

“Attaboy!”

The cart wobbled slightly as Yam jumped down, his boots crunching on the road as he stumped off into the darkness. TJ pushed himself up into a sitting position and stared out across the darkened fields. They had left the rolling hills behind the day before and TJ was glad of it. The sky here was so much clearer than back in Kamordah. He had heard about stars before, but he’d never seen them before today. There were so many of them, looking up at them too long made him feel as though he might just fall straight up into them.

A snap of a branch drew his attention back down to Exandria.

“Yam?” he called out, but it hadn’t been long enough for Yam to be coming back. Peering past the dim light of the dying fire TJ could see a figure crawling through the grass, perhaps if the grass was longer it would have been a more effective camouflage. He fumbled towards the hilt of his dagger, pushing into whoevers hip was by his foot at the same time. The grunt told him he had woken Don.

“Figure in the bushes.” TJ jutted his chin towards where the figure seemed to be fumbling something down by his leg. A bundle of sticks? Or arrows?

Quicker than he could blink, Don had much more efficiently notched an arrow into his own bow and with a twang of a bow string and a scream of pain the figure keeled over sideways clutching their shoulder.

The scream seemed to trigger an explosion of movement from the cart, Don and Zenny were immediately leaping over the side of the cart, running towards the figure. 

There was a burst of light from somewhere near the driver's bench as Alvyyn sat up, holy symbol already in hand, and threw what looked like a glowing boot towards the fight.

In the end it was hardly a struggle, the three bandits were underprepared for a group as organised and armed as this. By the time Yam came running back over, still tying the laces on his breeches and cursing in Dwarvish the three were sitting back to back with several blades aimed at them. Their weaponry lay in a separate pile.

“Right. Now that everyone has calmed down, we have to deal with these poor little shits.” Zenny walked up to the group, still brandishing his sword in one hand, the illuminated boot now in the other. “Ladies and Gentlemen. I would like to invite you to take a look at your lives, at your choices. Why do you feel the need to rob people on the road?”

The bandits looked at each other, confused.

“Surely this is not going well for you? Now two things are about to happen. You are going to take off your pants and walk away, and then you are going to re-think your lives.”

The bandit in the middle nodded fiercely. The others eventually followed suit.

“I don’t want to see you on these roads again!” Don called out, almost gleefully, towards the retreating backs of the bandits. Laughing as Yam gathered up three pairs of pants, folding them gently and then tossing them into the cart.


	9. The City

“Hey Yasha, have you seen my- WHAT THE FUCK MOLLY?!” Beau screeched as she rounded the corner into her and Yasha’s bedroom and her vision suddenly went black She reached up to angrily scrub what she knew to be tears of blood away from the corner of her eyes as she waited impatiently for the blood maladict to wear off. As the darkness faded and she could see once more she found herself face to face with a grinning purple tiefling blocking the doorway.

“Sorry!” he said, not seeming sorry at all, “It’s bad luck to see the dress before the wedding!”

“So you couldn’t have just told me?”

“Well where’s the fun in that?” Molly swiped at the blood running down his own neck, “Besides, I’m Yasha’s maid of honour, it’s basically my job to curse her future wife!”

“You and Jester both have very strange ideas about the job of a maid of honour. I was only wondering if my notebook was in here.”

Molly ducked back behind the door, returning a moment later with a book bound in blue leather, “This the one?” He asked sweetly.

“Yep,” Beau lunged for it but Molly held it over his head.

“Now, now, I didn’t hear a thankyou...oof!” Molly doubled over as a lightning-fast punch found its way to his stomach. Beau plucked the book from his hand as he gasped for his next breath.

“Fuck you, Molly!” she called good naturedly over her shoulder as she jogged back towards the stairs.

“Fuck you too!” came the gasped reply.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“There it is, lad. We’ll be in Zadash by sundown.” Don pointed out towards the horizon where TJ could see the walls surrounding the city. “You got a place to go once we get there?”

“Yeah, I think so. I got a place to start at least.”

“Well, alright then. We’ll be restocking for a day or two so if it don’t work out…”

“I’ll be fine, Don. But thanks, truly. I’d probably be dead on the road somewhere without you guys.”

“Ah, call it paying it forward. Someday when you come across someone who needs help just promise me you’ll do the same.”

“Deal.”

Despite assuring Don that he had a plan, TJ was becoming increasingly nervous as the day wore on and the city drew nearer. Sure, Beau had given the Cobalt Soul as her forwarding address, but weren’t they the ones who kidnapped her? Was he just supposed to trust this bunch of monks? And what then, he wasn’t even sure what day the wedding was supposed to be. All the voice had said was “next month”. He wished he’d thought to ask for more specifics.

The cart finally passed through the gates of Zadash as the sun crested low on the horizon and TJ jumped down onto the cobbled street with his potato sack of belongings. He called his thanks back Zenny and the others, watching them bump off down the street. Once again he was alone somewhere strange, this city was larger than anywhere he had been before, the buildings packed closer together and making the streets feel more like a labyrinth. He wondered if he should have asked the guys where to find the Valley Archive of the Cobalt Soul. But Zadash was only so big, how hard could it be to find? He turned East at random, hoping to find some sort of shop he could go into to ask directions. But a number of places seemed to be closed with the setting of the sun. Eventually, when he was resigning himself to finding a doorstep to sleep on for the night, he heard a faint stream of music from what looked like the only illuminated building in the area. A large, three story building with a sign proclaiming it as “The Leaky Tap”. An inn, thought TJ, perfect!

Though the hour was late there was still a fair crowd inside The Leaky Tap, a ramshackle stage was set up in one corner with an equally ramshackle band on top of it. It seemed like a cheerful enough place though as TJ wove his way past the tables towards the bar where a white-scaled dragonborn was hanging up clean tankards.

“Excuse me!” TJ rested his forearms on the bar, it was slightly sticky with spilt alcohol and chipped through years of use.

“Hm? Oh, alright there lad, what can I get ya?” The dragonborn looked him over with a yellow eye and TJ realised that he may still have wolf blood down his shirt.

“Ah, food and a room for the night if that’s possible. Maybe access to a wash basin of some kind.”

“Food and room we can do, wash basin is upstairs once you get a room.” he dug under the bar for a moment before bringing up a board and consulting it. “Room 9 is open, that’ll run you 5 silver for the room and food.”

TJ fished in his bag, dropping the money on the bar and accepting the key handed to him.

“Much obliged. Welcome to the Leaky Tap, name’s Wessek. You need anything,” he tapped his large chest, “you let me know. Food’ll be a few minutes.” and with that Wessek turned to shout something through a hatch into the kitchen and began pouring drinks down the other end of the bar.

TJ sat turning his key over in his hands, watching the other patrons of the bar. There seemed to be card games going on in the corner, a man in blue robes stood up, throwing his cards down onto the table and left in something of a huff.

There was a clattering of metal and Wessek returned, dropping a plate in front of him, along with a mug of some amber liquid and an assortment of mismatched cutlery.

“Tuck in, lad. We got roast chicken on the menu tonight.” TJ looked down, this was nothing like Jeanine’s roast chicken cut into neat slices. This was a doorstop-sized wedge of meat with gravy and an equally dense looking slice of bread. Not a vegetable in sight. It looked wonderful! TJ set to immediately.

“That’s what I like to see, a lad with an appetite!” Wessek chuckled, scooping up a metal basin and ducking out from behind the bar.

By the time he returned TJ had polished off most of his plate and was eyeing the drink suspiciously.

“It ain’t poison you know,” Wessek ducked back behind the bar, sliding the basin of empty tankards through the window to the kitchen. “You never tried ale before?”

TJ shook his head, but took a tentative sip of his drink. It was definitely alcoholic and definitely not wine. Perfect!

“It’s good!”

“Good to hear!” Wessek chuckled, “Don’t get too carried away now, I assume you’ve got things to do tomorrow.”

“Oh, actually,” Wessek seemed like a person who knew things, “do you know where the Cobalt Soul archive is?”

“A monk, eh? Wouldn’t have expected that.”

“I’m not, I’m going to visit my sister there.”

“Well, you’ll want to head into the Pentamarket, it’s just off the western side. Can’t miss it.”

“The Pentamarket?” TJ frowned, he assumed that was a building or something in the city.

“Not from around here, huh? Just head up the main road, it’s right in the middle of the city, big shopping district.”

“Right, thanks.”

TJ returned to his drink, mopping up the last of his gravy with his chunk of bread. Wessek seemed to watch him curiously for a moment before getting called over by another patron of the bar.

Eventually, after finally washing the blood out of his hair and doing his best to scrub it out of his clothes TJ collapsed on the bed in his room. It was small and simple, barely a bed and enough floor space to walk past it but it was more a roof than he had slept under in a few days. He kicked the door closed without having to stand up, listening to the latch click shut with a sigh. Best of all his room had a window that opened, the breeze was comforting, reminding him that he was no longer in Kamordah, where any open window only invited in the endless rain. In the end he hung his damp clothes over the foot of the bed and fell asleep on top of the sheets in his underpants.


	10. The Valley Archive of The Cobalt Soul

When TJ awoke it seemed to be very early in the morning again, the window had blown shut at some point in the night and the still air of the room was suddenly too oppressive. He scrambled to his feet and wrenched the door open, stumbling out into a silent corridor. It was a lot cooler out here as TJ regained his breath, wrapping his arms around himself to keep from shivering. He retreated back into his dark room, shoving a boot against the door frame to keep it from fully closing and collapsing back onto the bed. There was no way he was going to fall asleep again now, he might as well get ready for the day.

A fresh wave of panic went through him. He was going to the Cobalt Soul today. What if Beau wasn’t there? What if she was? What if it was all a big mistake and she didn’t want to see him after all? He forced himself to take a deep breath, scooping up his now dry clothes and examining them. They were no longer stiff with flaking wolf blood, but there was a large brown stain across the front of his shirt and there were rips in both of his pant legs. That wouldn’t do for a first impression. Second impression? Whatever. He bundled up the stained material and dug around in his bag for his spare clothes. They were extremely crumpled and smelled slightly musty but they were an improvement at least. He pulled them on along with his sweater, he didn’t really need his raincoat here. His boots were scuffed to shit but there wasn’t a whole lot he could do with them, he tried anyway, scrubbing some of the mud off with the leg of his ruined trousers.

After nervously pacing the room for an hour TJ judged it late enough that someone would probably be downstairs to give his key to. He shoved his things back into his sack, slightly embarrassed now that it so clearly said ‘potatoes’ across it. What would Beau think of him? Showing up looking like such a mess without even a proper pack.

When TJ reached the bar it was actually still empty other than Wessek who was shrugging off a travelling cloak and seemed to have just arrived. He turned as TJ came down the stairs, his large scaly face splitting into a grin.

“Mornin’! You’re about early. Sun’s barely up!”

“Couldn’t sleep.” TJ dropped his room key on the bar and slid onto one of the bar stools.

“I’m just about to go fire up the oven if you want to hang around for some breakfast?”

“I’m not really hungry.” In fact his stomach was churning so much by this point that the very idea of breakfast made him feel slightly sick.

“If you’re sure.” Wessek ducked through the door to the kitchen and before long the smell of bacon began wafting through the bar. TJ swallowed hard.

“Actually, Wessek, I think I’d better get going. Thanks for everything!” TJ called, scooting off his stool and heading for the door.

“Alright, lad! Best of luck!” came the reply from the kitchen, the large white head appearing at the window briefly to offer him a wave.

The streets outside seemed to be slowly coming back to life, carts rolled down the winding streets, people walked here and there, calling greetings. Most of them seemed to be heading deeper into the city so TJ decided to follow the crowd as it merged onto a road wider than those he had seen so far and pretty much straight into the heart of the city. By the time he had arrived in what he assumed must be the Pentamarket the sun had fully risen, warming his back where his sack rested against it.

The Pentamarket was a hive of activity, even this early in the morning. Merchants unloaded goods from wooden carts, shopkeepers were propping their doors open, the smell of baked goods drifted in the air. TJ spun in a circle, being jostled by the crowd. His eyes landing on an imposing grey tent, then a green fronted shop where two identical men with a mass of curly brown hair each were working together to hang a banner, he realised his mouth was hanging open and quickly closed it. Growing up in Kamordah he had never imagined a place could be this colourful and alive. Eventually he spied a large building just off the square with four spires towering over the surrounding shops. His stomach dropped again, that must be it.

TJ crossed the square, dodging around carts and shoppers alike, and stopped maybe a hundred feet away from the building. People of all races in blue robes or monk vestiges seemed to come and go, the whole place had a vague air of quiet purpose. He took a breath and tried hopelessly to comb his hair back with his fingers. Balled his hands into fists to stop them betraying his nerves and walked straight in through the door before he could change his mind.

It was quiet within the Cobalt Soul Archive too, people spoke in hushed voices, walking past and through doors into who knows where. Along one wall was what looked like a visitors desk manned by a young elven woman also adorned in blue robes who greeted him as he walked over.

“Good morning, welcome to the Valley Archive of the Cobalt Soul, how can I help you?”

Well, at least it was confirmation that he was in the right place.

“Hi, I’m, uh. I was given this place as an address for Beauregard Lionett. I was wondering if she was here.” He saw her eyebrows raise in surprise at the mention of Beaus' name but her customer service smile was unshaken.

“I believe High Curator Beauregard is at the Dusk Archive in Rosohna.” she must have noticed his shoulders slump because she added, “But we can get a message to her if you’d like.”

“Sure, okay. Can you tell her… Just tell her her brother stopped by.”

“I couldn’t help but overhear.” A voice called out from across the room. Too far away to have heard anything by TJ’s reckoning. Walking towards them he saw a bald, dark skinned elf wearing blue monk vestiges. “You say you are Beauregards brother?”

“Yes, my name’s TJ. I was hoping Beau would be here…”

“I will take it from here, Jaya. Follow me, TJ.”

“Yes Expositor Dairon.” The girl behind the desk smiled encouragingly at TJ who was about to follow this Expositor Dairon anyway. They had the kind of voice you didn’t want to disagree with.

Dairon led him through a door and up several flights of winding stairs until TJ was completely lost but figured they were probably in one of the spires. They unlocked a door and gestured for TJ to enter what turned out to be an office of some kind. Like every surface in this place every wall here was lined with bookshelves although there seemed to be as many leather bound notebooks in here as there were actual textbooks. Dairon gestured towards a seat opposite the desk and TJ slid into it obediently. Dairon took a seat opposite.

“Hm, already you are better behaved than your sister ever was.”

“You know Beau?” TJ wasn’t sure if he was being praised or judged.

“I do, Beauregard was my best student. The youngest person in decades to become an expositor and the youngest ever High Curator.” TJ noted the pride in Dairon's voice and relaxed slightly. But he still had questions.

“So you were the one who taught Beau?” Dairon nodded, “Were you one of the ones who kidnapped her?”

“Kidnapped is a strong word.”

“What word would you use?”

“Rescued. And while it may not always have been the case, I believe Beauregard would be inclined to agree with me these days.”

“But-”

“We received word from Thoreau Lionett that his daughter wanted to enrol in our martial arts academy here at the Archive. He paid tuition and we arranged a time to come and pick her up and escort her back to the archive. Never did we expect that she had not been consulted. But more than that, when I arrived I saw a girl at breaking point and a father who was, forgive me, not fit to hold the title. We could not in good conscience leave her there. Your father was prepared to let us take her from that place. There was a fire within her, but your father was determined to snuff it out. Tell me, has his parenting improved this time around?”

TJ thought back to his last days in the house, barricading himself in his bedroom while his father hurled abuse.

“No.”

“Then you see why we felt the kindest course of action was to remove her from that environment. Even if she did not realise until later the opportunities before her.”

“Oh.”

“When was the last time you saw Beauregard, TJ?” Dairon asked, lacing their fingers together on the desk and regarding him carefully. They seemed to unnervingly land on everything troubling him.

“I don’t remember, actually. They say she came to visit when I was two but…”

“So why are you searching for her now?”

“I am NOT going home.” TJ insisted

“I did not think for one moment that you would.” Dairon interjected calmly, “Why are you searching for her now?”

“She asked me to come to her wedding.” TJ admitted, watching Dairon’s face twist as though tasting something sour.

“She asked me the same.” They admitted, shifting papers on the desk and withdrawing a post card. They offered it across the desk to TJ, the card was clearly hand decorated, glitter sparkled across the surface, spilling onto the desk. In bubble writing so fancy it was barely legible was written:

Beau and Yasha  
Invite you to their wedding!  
On:  
Grissen, 16th of Syndenstar 849PD  
At:  
The Lavish Chateau  
Nicodranas

The card was painted like a field of wildflowers, although TJ was pretty sure one of the snowdrops was subtly shaped like a dick.

“Jester.” TJ muttered to himself, flipping the card over to see Dairon’s name and address written carefully on the other side in a familiar untidy scrawl.

“You know Jester and yet you have no memory of Beauregard?”

“Not really, last week I found all the birthday cards Beau sent me and Jester drew on one of them.” He dug around in his bag for a moment, finding the cards carefully wrapped in his raincoat, “Here.” He dropped them all on the desk, flicking through to find the most recent one.

“You only got these last week?” Dairon’s eyes roamed over the pile, no doubt taking note of the numbers written proudly on the front. They looked sad for a very small moment before their expression hardened into something like anger.

“Dad hid them in one of his desk drawers, I guess he liked pretending I didn’t have a sister. Honestly I’m surprised he didn’t just burn them.”

“Hmmm,” hummed Dairon, still flicking through the cards.

“I guess you’re not going to the wedding either then,” he said glumly, looking over the date again.

“Of course I am.” replied Dairon absently, still reading through the cards with a small smile.

“But it’s in five days, and Nicodranas is weeks of travel away!”

“By cart, perhaps. But we have a teleportation circle in Port Damali which is closer and I believe Beauregard has arranged with an archmage in Nicodranas to borrow his teleportation circle as well for last minute arrivals. Nevertheless, perhaps it would be more prudent for you to arrive ahead of time. At the very least it will give you the opportunity to find some new clothes.”

TJ laughed awkwardly, looking down at his crumpled shirt and muddy boots.

“Perhaps you’re right.”

I can get word to Master Yussa.” Dairon stood, gesturing for TJ to do the same, “In the meantime you can stay in Beauregards quarters, although I would not touch anything in jars while you are there. Last time she stayed for any length of time her halfling friend was asking for books about explosives.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I spend half an hour figuring out what day of the week 16th of Syndenstar would be 14 years after the Nein met? Maybe...


	11. The Room

“That’s it, I’m officially off work for the week!” Beau threw herself into a chair at the Xorhaus kitchen table, giving Yasha a quick peck on the lips before picking up her own spoon.

“Why? Do you have important plans this week?” Yasha asked, innocently scooping up another mouthful of Caduceus’s latest soup experiment. The resultant dinner today was an alarming shade of purple, though he assured them that was to be expected.

Beau almost choked on her mouthful of soup. Yasha pounded her on the back until she finished coughing.

“You know, I was just kidding.” She smiled, hooking her ankle around Beau’s under the table.

“Well, I’ve got to get to Nicodranas early tomorrow so I can be there when the Ball Eater docks.” Caduceus chipped in matter of fact-ly, “Then I’m taking Fjord to that lovely tailor so he can get measured for his wedding outfit.”

“I bet he’ll love that!” Beau muttered into her bowl, causing Yasha to snort into her own purple soup.

“I’ve told him a pink cravat would really compliment his skin. What do you guys think?” Caduceus continued as if they hadn’t said anything.

“If it’s anything like the time you turned his hair pink, 100% yes.” Beau nodded as seriously as she could.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Beaus quarters at the Valley Archive were, in short, incredible. There was a massive bed shoved into the corner, the blankets still in disarray as though several people had just woken up. The side of the room featured a cluttered desk and the entire four walls were painted as a mural. There was a calm beach scene, flowing into a dense jungle with strange fungus and giant flytraps, then the forest dropped away into a field of wild flowers, then rising into a strange city skyline with mountains in the distance. The mountains then dropped away into a rocky shore and out to sea again. A tiny island seemed to break the surface before the mural looped back to the calming beach once more. TJ spun on the spot, taking it all in while Dairon looked around the room with their nose wrinkled.

“I must apologise for the mess, you would think a High Curator running her own satellite archive would tidy her room but…”

“Nono, it’s fine.” TJ grinned, fingers itching to look through all the stuff in here.

“Very well, I will come to fetch you when I have heard back from Master Yussa.” And with that they were gone.

TJ put his bag down and walked over to the bed, it really was enormous. Maybe Beaus girlfriend was really really tall or something. There was an empty glass on the nightstand as well as a small, dog eared book and a broken quill. If it wasn’t for the dust it would look like Beau had been here only yesterday. TJ picked up the book, flicking it over and grimacing at the cover. ‘Tusk Love’? A romance novel, really? The cover had a sappy portrait of a ripped half orc embracing a girl who looked probably human. He laughed at the idea of showing this to Don, the half orc fur trader.

The desk was a mess, worlds away from the unnatural cleanness of his father's study. The desk itself was solid but covered in ink spills and condensation rings and what looked like acid burns. There were jars too, pushed to the back of the surface to make room for the papers. A small cloth bag proved to be filled with small scraps of metal in amongst a dark powdery substance that made TJ sneeze when he leaned too close. The papers themselves seemed to be notes of some kind, TJ could see at least three different handwritings. The untidy scrawl was probably Beau, but there were arcane equations in a neater, more deliberate hand and what looked to be alchemical notes in handwriting so small and cramped that he would need a magnifying glass to read half of it. And every page adorned with little doodles in the margins. There were caricatures of people TJ didn’t recognise, smiley faces with googly eyes and tusks, more dicks. On one sheet and over the top of some writing was a detailed sketch of a man, his long hair pulled back into a messy ponytail and a look of intense concentration on his face. Underneath in new, curly handwriting were the words “Caleb doesn’t stink (anymore)”.


	12. The Goblin in The Magic Tower

“Caaaaleeeeeb!” Jester sang up the stairs, “Come on, Yussa is expecting us this time!”

Essek pulled his hood up over his head, only the tip of his nose now visible.

“We’re going to be late for dinner with Mama and she made me promise we’d get there before Dad so I could help her get ready.”

“Jester, don’t forget it will be early morning in Nicodranas right now.”

“I knoooow,” Jester sighed, “I’m just worried. They haven’t seen each other in so long.”

“I understand, love.” Essek’s face was still hidden under his cloak but there was a smile in his voice.

“Dude, don’t sweat it. Even in her pajamas Marion’s gonna knock him dead.” Beau grinned, hitching her bag back onto her shoulder.

“It’s true, Jester. Your mother is very beautiful.” Yasha agreed, ducking her head with a blush as Beau gasped at her, mock-offended.

Before Beau could tease her further Caleb came rushing into the room brandishing a new chalk and wordlessly dropped to the floor to draw the last few lines of the teleportation circle. There was a familiar falling sensation and the group landed in the teleportation circle room in Yussa’s tower. The archmage himself stood in the doorway to greet them but still seemed slightly overwhelmed by the volume of the greeting he received.

“Wonderful to see you all too, I’m sure. But I am given to understand you do not have too much time for pleasantries today?”

“Apologies, Master Yussa. We do have rather a lot to prepare.”

“Not to worry, Mr Widogast. I’m sure there will be more time for conversation at the wedding.”

“Ja, of course. I actually had a new spell I wanted to show..”

There was a loud clearing of a throat from within Essek’s hood.

“Um, another time, perhaps.”

Yussa lead them down the stairs and out of his tower and the group found themselves on the sunny streets of Nicodranas.

“Straight to the Chateau I think.” Caleb suggested, glancing at Essek who had withdrawn his hands into his long sleeves.

“Let’s go already!” Jester impatiently grabbed each wizard by the arm and began marching them towards the Lavish Chateau.

“Shall we?” Beau grinned, offering her free arm to Yasha who looped her own through it, taking a deep breath of sea air.

“Come on then!” Molly grinned a pointy grin, looping his arm through Yasha’s other side and grabbing one of the bags from her hand.

Beau rolled her eyes, allowing herself to be led through the streets of Nicodranas by her beautiful wife-to-be and her obnoxious tiefling friend.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

By the time Dairon returned TJ had fallen asleep in the middle of the massive bed, the copy of Tusk Love over his face.

He woke suddenly to a knock at the door and it took him five seconds of terror before he remembered where he was. In Beaus' old room again, but this time in Zadash. At the Cobalt Soul Archive. He quickly crossed to the door, trying to calm his hammering heart.

Dairon stepped inside as soon as the door was open.

“We’ve spoken to Yussa, he’s agreed to let you through his teleportation circle but we have to be quick. Apparently his tower is more like the center of Rexxentrum this week.” Dairon rolled their eyes, “Mages do tend to be dramatic.”

“Right, I’ll just…” TJ quickly gathered his bag and, after a moment, shoved the copy of Tusk Love in there too. If Dairon noticed this they didn’t say anything, taking off down the corridor as soon as TJ had shut the door.

They walked down another dizzying series of corridors, staircases and rooms lined with books until Dairon stopped abruptly at another nondescript door and knocked on it twice.

Stepping inside it appeared to be another office, slightly larger than Dairons. A halfling woman was drawing on the floor with a stick of chalk and glanced up as Dairon and TJ walked in.

“Perfect timing, Dairon. I take it this is the young man in question?” The halfling woman looked him over, “I can see the resemblance.”

“Thanks for this, Orla.”

“Don’t mention it. Ever teleported before, young man?”

“No, sorry.” TJ said, was it hard? Could he do it wrong?

“Not to worry, it’s really easy. Once I draw this next line the whole thing will start glowing, all you gotta do is step into the circle. You gotta be quick, though. It don’t last long.”

TJ nodded, looking at the intricate circle of chalk drawn on the stone floor.

“I expect I will see you soon, TJ.” Dairon extended their hand and TJ shook it, trying not to wince at the crushing grip. “Good luck.”

“Ready?” Asked Orla, chalk in hand. TJ nodded and she drew a final white line. “Go!”

The circle burst into light and TJ all but ran into it, his momentum carrying him forward into the wall of a completely different room. He looked around wildly, Dairon and Orla were gone. Instead he was in a circular room with sunlight streaming in the window. There was the sound of a throat clearing and from around the door frame stepped a very old-looking goblin, peering through spectacles perched on the end of his nose.

“Ah, you must be the arrival from the Cobalt Soul, welcome to Tidepeak Tower.”

“Um, hullo.” TJ said, trying not to seem like he was staring. There was something familiar about his toothy smile although he was sure he had never met this goblin. Actually he didn’t think he’d met any goblin before.

“My name is Wensforth, assistant to the esteemed Archmage Yussa Errenis. The Master apologises for not welcoming you in person but he says he has better things to do than lead people up and down the stairs all day.” the goblin stated. 

“I’m sorry to intrude. I can just go?”

“Of course, of course. Let me show you to the door.” Wensforth set off, surprisingly sprightly for one so old, leading TJ down yet more stairs and into a comfortable looking sitting room with no door. He then lay his hand against a blank expanse of wall and TJ watched it swing open as if there had always been a door there.

“Thank you.” TJ stepped out of the door, “Oh! Actually, I don’t suppose you could point me towards a clothes shop? And an inn?”

“The Withered Bird is the inn all the sailors tend to use,” Wensforth pointed a long, crooked finger down the street, “As for clothes, if you’re looking for something fancy you’d probably be best in the Opal Archways.” he pointed another direction.

“Okay, thanks again!” TJ gave Wensforth a wave as the door to the tower swung shut, leaving the tower smooth as if there had never been a door there at all.


	13. The Opposite of Kamordah

Walking towards where Wensforth had said the Withered Bird was, TJ passed a row of buildings and found himself overlooking a vast expanse of glittering blue. As far as he could see water rippled, only interrupted by the odd ship before meeting the sky above. TJ had read about the ocean, but knowing theoretically that there was this much water in the world was wildly insufficient to prepare him for the sight of it all laid out before him and stretching further than he could see. He stood, agape. People were walking along the edge of it too, children with their trousers rolled up to their knees kicking water at each other. He had to try it. He pulled the laces of his boots undone, tying the laces together to loop them around his shoulders. The sand was soft and gritty between his toes, he had almost been expecting the same texture as the mud back home. He stepped down the beach, adjusting his weight as the sand slid beneath his feet, becoming more solid and cold as he neared the point where the water seemed to endlessly lick up and down the land. The first lap of the waves made him jump with how cool it was, wonderfully so on his hot feet. The spray was salty across his face and TJ breathed it in, looking around at all of the colours. Strange birds shrieking overhead and people laughing under the sun. If any place was the polar opposite of Kamordah, this had to be it. He loved it.

TJ walked along the beach, the waves occasionally tickling his feet until he spotted the inn a couple hundred feet in from the sea. Hopping with bare feet across the street he stepped inside. Immediately this place was rowdier than the Leaky Tap had been, everyone in here looked as if they had lived outside their entire lives, and maybe they had. Their skin weathered, their hair sun bleached. Someone TJ guessed must be a Tortle (although he had never met one before), with an alarming array of pipes sticking through his shell was sat in the centre of a group of sailors. He seemed to be entertaining them with tales of some sort of sea snake in exchange for a steady supply of ale. The table erupted into laughter as TJ edged his way towards the bar.

“Afternoon, sweetie. What can I get ya?” The half elf woman behind the bar asked, setting up a tankard on the bar in preparation.

“An ale and a room if you have one.” TJ said over the continued mirth of the Tortle and his audience.

“I can do both for ya.” the woman swept the tankard under the bar, returning it a moment later full to the brim. “I’ll just check the rooms.” She headed towards the other end of the bar, leaving TJ to sip his drink and watch the other patrons of the bar. Almost all of them looked like they’d spent many years at sea, except perhaps one man sat in the corner. A strange man he was too, very tall with a shock of bright pink hair and his arm around a half orc who definitely looked like he knew his way around a boat. Both of them were listening to the Tortle’s stories.

“Here you go. Rooms are upstairs. Washroom at the end of the hall.”

“Thanks.” TJ dropped some money on the bar and finished the rest of his drink. He figured he could drop his things off in his room and maybe see about getting some clothes. Or at the very least scope out where the Lavish Chateau was.

The room here was very similar to the one in the Leaky Tap, apart from the ever-present smell of the sea even before he cracked the tiny window open. TJ dug through the bag to find the coin purse his mother had given him. The bacon had long since been eaten but with everything that had happened over the last week he hadn’t had time to look in the purse yet. Tipping the contents out onto the bedspread he found to his shock ten platinum pieces and a chunky ring set with a jade stone. TJ knew his father was very tight with money, it had taken him 15 years to squirrel away 7 gold pieces. How long had his mother been working to hide away that kind of money? He carefully put the money back into the coin purse, looping the ring onto the jade necklace Beau had given him. The coin purse he tucked deep into his jacket pocket and then shoved his hand in on top of it so he couldn’t lose it.

The Opal Archways, it turned out, was the more affluent district of Nicodranas. TJ quickly spotted the Lavish Chateau, a towering building painted blue to match the sky. The guards outside made him decide against trying to get a closer look, though. He wandered the streets for a while before spotting a shop with a number of suits on display in the window. Stepping inside he was immediately pounced on by an elven gentleman wearing a suit that was so well starched TJ was surprised he could move at all. TJ quickly explained his situations, noting the critical look the elf gave his crumpled outfit. TJ was shown to a dressing room, a dizzying array of shirts and pants in hand. Anton, his helper/torturer had him try on a hundred different combinations of shirt and pant until he was satisfied and moved on to jackets. 

TJ took the opportunity to sit down in his little booth while Anton was busy and in the welcome quiet he could hear a conversation going on in the booth next door.

“- don’t understand what’s wrong with my old jacket.”

“It’s not that there’s anything wrong with it, it’s just over ten years old and I think there’s been moths chewing at the lining.”

“Then can you not just choose for me? Please, Caduceus?”

“Well, yeah I’m happy to choose for you.”

“Excellent-”

“You’ll have to try it on, though. Just to make sure it fits.”

The muffled groan from the other side of the wall was drowned out as Anton returned in a clatter of coathangers and TJ resigned himself to trying on a million jackets too.


	14. The Beach

Beau took a deep breath of ocean air, focusing on the sand beneath her, the spray on her face, matching her breath to the slow ebb and flow of the sea…

“Hey Beau!”

“Hey Jessie.” Beau continued looking out over the sea, catching a flash of blue out of the corner of her eye.

“Whatcha doing?” a bejewelled purple tail landed very deliberately in her lap.

“Well, I WAS meditating but I assume you have something more fun in mind.” Beau turned her head to where Molly sat, for once not wearing his ridiculous rainbow coat under the heat of the Nicodranas sun.

“Sorry, I tried to make them wait but apparently there’s important maid of honour plans going on right now.” Yasha sat herself down behind Beau, trapping her girlfriend against her chest. Beau leaned back into her, accepting a kiss against her temple.

“I’m sure you’ll find a way to make it up to me.”

“I’m sure I will.” Yasha whispered against her ear, sending a shiver up Beaus' spine.

“Oi! Eyes front if you don’t mind.” Molly stood gracefully, stepping in front of the pair so there was no way they couldn’t see him. “Since you two party poopers didn’t want Hen parties we’ve decided to ignore you and organise one anyway.”

Beau groaned, looking over to see Jester jumping to her feet, grinning. She looked up at the pair of them, stood with identical pointy grins. Tieflings really were devils sometimes.

“Go on then, what do we have to do?” Asked Beau, resigned.

“Beach Party!!” Jester all but exploded with joy. “Veth and Yeza and Luc are on their way over and Fjord is bringing the crew from the Ball Eater. It’ll be like a pre-wedding party.”

“What about Essek?” Yasha asked, softly, “The reason we’re getting married at dusk is so he can come.”

“He and Caleb are still working on their new spell thingy, they didn’t want to come but Essek said they might come down this evening if they finish up.” Jester waggled her eyebrows suggestively, grin still all over her face.

“It does sound kind of fun.” Yasha admitted.

“Ugh, fine! I’ll have fun with my friends!” Beau groaned before dropping into an actual smile, “Thanks, Jester.”

“Hey!”

“And Molly.”

“More like it!”

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

It was the first day in forever that TJ had absolutely nothing to do. His new suit was hanging safely in his inn room, he had even managed to pick himself up a real backpack to replace the potato sack which had started to fray in one corner at some point in the last couple of days. He wondered over breakfast whether he should try to actually find Beau before the wedding tomorrow. Assuming she was already here. She must be. That’s how you organise weddings, right?

In the end he set off into the city with a handful of coins in one pocket and, after brief deliberation, the copy of Tusk Love in the other. Maybe he’d find somewhere to sit and finish reading it.

In the end that was exactly what he did. Was he procrastinating? Maybe. Did the idea of hunting his sister down fill him with a terrible mixture of excitement and dread? Also maybe. But even so he found a comfortable spot on the beach and reclined against a boulder to read. At least for a while. Then he’d go see about finding Beau.

Tusk Love, despite the cheesy cover art and frankly appalling title, was actually well written. So well written that TJ didn't even notice the ball until it struck him in the head. He looked around, surprised, as a blue tiefling jogged over to retrieve it.

“Oh Gods, I’m so sorry. Are you… wait, are you reading Tusk Love?” She immediately plonked herself in the sand next to him, the ball forgotten. “Isn’t it such a good book?”

“Oh, uh. Yeah. I guess. I’m not finished yet, though. Just got to the bit where Oskar has to leave.” TJ felt his face heading up but the tiefling woman didn’t seem phased.

“Ooooh I remember the first time I read that part! I was so disappointed. Just don’t give up hope, yet. You’ll get to the happy ending eventually!”

“Hurry up, Jes!” The yell came from a tall half orc, possibly the one he had seen in the inn yesterday as TJ spotted his pink haired companion sat in the sand a few feet away with two bushy haired halfling men.

“Ah shit. See you around!” and with that she was gone, chucking the ball halfway across the beach with the ease of someone much stronger than she looked. TJ watched her jog back to her friends, dumbfounded. There was something familiar about her voice.

TJ tried to return to his book, but quickly gave up as his eyes were drawn to the blue woman and her friends. They seemed a motley crew, halflings and half orcs and tieflings and humans. TJ spied the old Tortle he had seen the day before, grinning as he started up what he now realised were bagpipes and every bird in the vicinity took flight in alarm. A short figure with either a feathery cloak or actual feathers sat down beside him, opened their mouth (beak?) and began to copy his tune a few notes behind... Not copy as in whistle like a bird along to the song, copy as in somehow create an unnervingly accurate bagpipe sound only slightly out of time with the Tortle. 

The blue woman was facing away from him now, seemingly playing a game that involved knocking the ball over a line dug into the sand to another tiefling, purple this time, and a tall woman with a tattoo running down her chin who looked like she’d be more at home swinging a battle axe. As he watched the blue tiefling and her human teammate both dove towards the ball and ended up colliding with each other, the ball bouncing over towards TJ again.

“Shit, sorry Beau!” she called, helping pull the human woman to her feet

TJ caught the ball as it hit his hip, staring towards the woman.  
Beau.  
The tiefling had called her Beau.  
She was tall, about as tall as him if he stood up properly, her hair brown like his mothers.  
Like mine, he thought.  
He clambered shakily to his feet, still clutching the ball. 

“Hey!” called the woman. Beau. Turning her eyes on TJ at last. “Pass the ball would ya, kid?”

TJ walked over, heart thundering in his chest.

“Areyoubeauregardlionett?” he managed, inwardly cursing himself immediately at his awkwardness.

“Huh?” she asked, hands still out for the ball.

“Are you Beauregard Lionett?” he asked again, forcing himself still.

“Uh, yeah. Why?”

“I, um. I’m TJ. Your brother. I got a-” TJ found his voice cut off as two strong arms wrapped themselves around him, the ball fell forgotten to the ground as he hugged her back. After a long moment he heard a shuddering breath on his shoulder and realised Beau was crying. He realised he was too.

Eventually Beau pulled away, one hand still resting on his shoulder as though she was afraid he would disappear if she let go completely.

“Fuck me,” she muttered, wiping the tears from her eyes with the heel of her hand, “you know I really didn’t think you’d come.”

“Oh, sorry. I mean I can go if..”

“Are you kidding!? I’m fucking delighted, man!” she shook his shoulder lightly.

“Beau!? We hugging strangers on the beach now?” Beau glanced back to glare at the purple tiefling.

“Come on, you gotta meet everybody!”

“Really?” TJ eyed the group apprehensively, they all seemed friendly but there were an awful lot of them. What if Beaus' friends didn’t like him?

“Of course! Welcome to the Mighty Nein, little brother.”


	15. The Purple Devil

The actual wedding ceremony wasn’t going to be until just after sunset (“We have friends who don’t like the sun so much, and honestly I’m gonna sweat through my suit if I have to wear it out in the midday sun”, said Beau) but guests started arriving at the Lavish Chateau around noon anyway. The entire hotel had been booked out for the occasion, apparently The Ruby of the Sea was Jester-the-blue-tiefling’s mother and had something of a soft spot for Beau and her friends (“She thinks we kept Jester safe all these years but really I think she saved me more often than I saved her!”). TJ left his new room at the chateau to join the party a little late. It was a definite upgrade from the room at the Withered Bird, with a queen sized bed all to himself and crushed velvet curtains. The second he got to the bottom of the stairs he found the purple tiefling, Mollymauk, pressing a large glass of wine into his hands.

“Get that down you, it’s not a party until everyone is at least mildly wasted.” and before TJ could comment he had gracefully wound his way back into the crowd, no doubt looking for more unsuspecting guests to ply with alcohol. TJ took a hesitant sip of the wine, it wasn’t Lionett wine. In fact, it tasted like…

“Errenath Family Red,” Beau appeared at his shoulder with a satisfied grin, “More expensive than Lionett wine and so much sweeter than giving dad one copper of my hard earned cash.” She took a long swig from her own glass. “I’d watch out for Molly if I were you. He’s mostly harmless but he has made it his mission to get everyone drunk by sundown.”

“Knowing Molly he’ll succeed.” Yasha joined the little group, casually slipping an arm around Beau. This, TJ had learned, was Beau's girlfriend and for all that she looked like she could have snapped TJ in half with very little effort she was incredibly soft-spoken and quite obviously head over heels for his sister. “You look very handsome, TJ.”

TJ glanced down at his outfit. He had to admit, as tedious as his shopping trip had been, Anton had outdone himself. His jacket and trousers were a dark green which went well with the crisp white shirt he was terrified of spilling wine down and gave him an excuse to wear his jade pendant outside his shirt for once. Beau seemed to notice, hooking it on a finger and examining it.

“You still have it. I thought for sure they would have taken it off you.”

“I think dad’s bullshit superstition overpowered whatever urge he had to keep me away from you.”

“Good, I’m glad you had it. Did more good than those birthday cards, anyway.” Beau cleared her throat and took another long sip of wine. “I hope someone washed it at some point, though. It’s been in some dank places!”

TJ laughed, one hand twisting the pendant.

“Right. New wedding rule.” Beau said decisively, “No more mention of bullshit family members. There’s time for that another day.”

“Agreed,” TJ knocked his glass into Beaus.

Eventually TJ found himself sat at a corner table, watching people arrive. Orly the tortle had struck up a tune on his built in bagpipes again, this time accompanied by Jester on piano. The sound was jarring but not entirely unpleasant and several guests had cleared the centre of the floor for dancing. He sipped at maybe his third glass of wine (Molly had an unnerving ability to show up as soon as he finished a drink and present him with a new one before skipping away, gleefully). A short, curly haired figure dropped into the chair beside him and offered him a hand to shake.

“You’re TJ, right?” asked a young halfling man probably around TJs age. “I’m Luc. My mum used to travel around with your sister when I was a kid.” He pointed out to the dancefloor where a halfling couple were dancing with such enthusiasm and flailing of limbs that everyone else was giving them a wide berth out of fear of injury.

“Yeah? You’ve known Beau for a long time, then?”

“I guess, they used to stop by whenever they could. It was right when they were ending the war with Xorhas so things were weird for a while.”

“Wasn’t that hard? Not having your mum around?”

“Sometimes,” Luc said, honestly. “But she was doing important work and I always had Dad, and Marion while we lived here.”

“Huh,” TJ opted to take another sip of his drink instead of trying to formulate an answer.

“What about you? Mum was saying they went to visit you when you were very little but I suppose you haven’t seen Beau in a long time.”

“I don’t even remember that,” TJ said glumly, “mostly my parents pretended she had never existed. I’m just mad they never gave me the chance to know her.” He looked out across the dance floor to where Beau was being spun around the dance floor by the half orc called Fjord. It wasn’t really a dance but she was laughing. “Even now I don’t really know her. She’s my sister, I love her and I'm a damn sight better off here than I was back in Kamordah. I don’t know. Is that dumb?”

“No,” said Luc pensively examining his own wine, “but what’s important is here and now. You have a chance to get to know her now, she’s pretty great and from what I hear she thinks you’re pretty great too.”

“But she doesn’t really know me either.” TJ protested, noticing his grip on his glass tightening.

“Maybe, but she wants to.” Luc shrugged, “Absence doesn’t mean absence of love. It’s like when mum retired from adventuring with the Mighty Nein. She’d been away so long I didn’t really know her. But I knew she loved me. It was a place to start.”

TJ’s contemplation of that was interrupted by the arrival of another small figure, the feathered one he had noticed on the beach yesterday.

“Oh hey, Kiri.” Luc grinned at the new arrival, “Have you met TJ yet?”

“TJ.” Said the kenku in a perfect imitation of Luc, then “I am Kiri!”. That one sounded like Jester.

“Nice to meet you!” TJ offered a hand to shake feathered fingers and found his own voice being reflected back at him.

“Nice to meet you!”

At that point Mollymauk sauntered back over with a bottle of wine in his grip.

“I see glasses that are not full, totally unacceptable.” He circled the table topping up all the drinks.

“Go fuck yourself!” That one also sounded like Jester, he wondered if she had spent time teaching Kiri swear words at some point.

“Right back at you!” Molly winked at the kenku, “You’d better drink fast, kids! Sun’s almost down and it’s definitely gonna take longer than they planned to walk this drunken lot down to the beach!” He looked quite pleased with himself.


	16. The Wedding Part 1

TJ finished his drink, a pleasant fuzz developing in his head, as the crowd fell quiet, attention turning to the grand staircase at the back of the room. There at the top, looking faintly embarrassed to have this many eyes on her, stood Beau in a slate grey suit with a dark blue tie. A dark red flower stuck through her buttonhole.

“Okay everyone,” Jesters voice came magically magnified from next to Beau, “Time to head out, follow me!” and with that she skipped down the stairs leading Beau and the others towards the door. TJ watched as the crowd obediently fell into a strange sort of procession, Luc jumped up, dragging Kiri with him to join his parents. TJ stood to awkwardly follow but was stopped by a voice calling his name.

“TJ!” Beau jogged over while Jester waited at the door, “C’mon dude, you’re up front with me!”

She grabbed his arm and all but dragged him to the front of the crowd where Jester waited sandwiched between a human wearing a cat as a scarf and a drow man floating a couple of inches off the ground. TJ spotted the tall pink haired person who had been introduced to him as Caduceus and his half orc companion looking slightly uncomfortable in a suit and pink ascot. There was Luc and his parents and behind them a glamorously dressed red Tiefling with her arm looped with a blue man who looked slightly sweaty. She seemed to be eyeing the door nervously but calmed slightly as Jester disengaged herself from her wizards and took her other arm.

“Guess we’re in the lead then!” Beau offered her arm to TJ and together they led the wedding procession down towards the beach.

As they left the Lavish Chateau the singing started up again and Beau laughed out loud.

“Sounds like Molly’s been busy!” She glanced back towards her friends, “He’s known as the Purple Devil in certain parts of the Empire, you know?”

“Huh, I might have met some of his former associates on the road to Zadash.”

The rowdy procession continued down towards the sea, out onto the same beach TJ had seen them playing on the day before, now it was covered in rows of chairs facing towards an enormous lighthouse shaped like a woman and below her on the sand an archway of woven vines and flowers. He didn’t know a lot about flowers, they never really had them in Kamordah, but he wasn’t sure wildflowers grow on beaches ordinarily. Regardless of whether it was technically possible, the edges of the aisle between the chairs were lined with small flowers apparently flourishing in the sun-heated sand.

Beau began walking down the aisle towards the archway and the guests following them dispersed to find chairs, many of them with wine glasses still in hand now TJ looked properly.

“Hey, Beau?” TJ asked, looking around at the sea of relative strangers.

“Yeah?”

“Where should I sit?”

“Family sit in front,” Beau continued leading him towards the front, “Here, you can sit with the wizards.” She gestured towards where the man with the cat and the drow were finding themselves seats.

TJ walked obediently over to the chair next to the one with the cat.

“Uh, Beau said I should sit here?” It wasn’t exactly a question but it came out sounding like one.

“Ah, of course. You must be TJ, Beauregards brother.” the man smiled, extending a hand to shake. “My name is Caleb Widogast.”

“Essek” the drow leant past Caleb to shake TJs hand too with an encouraging smile.

“Nice to meet you both… again?” That one was a question, the past day seemed to have been full of people who remembered him more than he remembered them.

“You were quite a lot younger when last we met,” Caleb smiled a small smile, “and it was something of a fleeting visit. I’m glad of the chance to meet you properly.”

“You as well.” TJ nodded. This man must be another of her Mighty Nein friends, he looked along the rest of the front row. He saw Luc and his parents, his mother engaged in conversation with the half orc Fjord who was tugging uncomfortably at his ascot. He saw Jester tuck her bag under the chair the other side of Essek as she went to join Beau at the front. Kiri had found a spot next to Luc and there was a spare chair he assumed was for Mollymauk. Family sit in front, she had said. A different sort of family to be sure but TJ was pretty sure this one was better for Beau than the one she had left behind in Kamordah.

There was an odd discordant note behind him and he turned to see Orly positioning himself in a chair and deflating his bagpipes. Further along the row he saw Jesters' mother, one hand holding the front of the silk wrap draped over her shoulders, engaged in conversation with the sweaty blue man. From the look on his face TJ thought a dragon turtle washing up on the beach probably couldn’t have distracted him. He spotted Dairon finding a seat towards the back and looking over the crowd with what appeared to be deep suspicion. He offered a wave anyway when their gaze swept past him.

TJ was slightly overawed at the number of people still arriving. A human woman with a flowing blue dress and a halfling companion who looked like she could kick the ass of anyone here. An odd assortment of people who arrived in a rowdy group and immediately seated themselves around Orly. A stubbled Dwarven woman and a woman with what looked like a halo around her head sat together, the dwarf seemed to have brought half a bottle of wine with her and they were passing it back and forth. A man TJ assumed must be an elf with wild orange hair who dropped into the second row behind Luc and Kiri and whispered something to them which made them both giggle like children.

The list went on. TJ had never really had friends before, he wondered if he had been missing out. Before he could continue that train of thought he felt a series of tiny pin pricks and a weight shift onto his lap, he looked down to find a cat making himself comfortable. He hesitantly reached down to scratch it behind an ear and it immediately began purring loudly. The sound was oddly comforting.

“Ah, I apologise, Frumpkin likes new people.” Caleb regarded the cat and then TJ with a small smile.

“It’s fine, don’t worry.” TJ buried his fingers in the soft fur, looking back towards the front where Beau was hopping from foot to foot while she talked to Jester.

All at once, Jester grabbed Beau by the shoulder and spun her around so she was facing away from the crowd. Caduceus turned away from where he had been organising the flowers on the archway (and, unless TJ was mistaken, talking to them) as music seemed to float from the back of the crowd. A bald human man in probably his 50s with a truly impressive scar across one side of his face and a young dwarven woman walked down the aisle, he furiously playing a fiddle and she singing with a beautiful mature voice, or maybe several voices it was somehow hard to tell. TJ found himself grinning and looking around to see the rest of the guests doing the same. The pair reached the front and stepped aside, the music growing slightly quieter.

The crowd turned as one to see Yasha, lead by Molly, arrive at the other end of the aisle. At first TJ thought her dress looked black, but as she stepped into the light of the sun setting over the sea it shone a dark blue that matched Beaus' tie perfectly. In her hands she held a small bunch of red flowers.

She made her way to the front and Jester finally allowed Beau to turn around. TJ saw Beau say something to Yasha and Yasha blushed. Molly gave Yasha a quick kiss on the forehead and took her flowers from her. Then he and Jester ducked into their seats in the front row.

“Welcome, friends and family.” Caduceus began, the guests immediately falling silent. “We are all here today to witness the union of Yasha and Beauregard. I have been lucky enough to know both of them for a number of years. In fact I remember the first time I met Beauregard. We were in my family’s garden and I think it was Castella that we were drinking. Anyway I…”

“Uh, Duceus?” Beau cut off what sounded like the start of a long story.

“Right, right. Well anyone who wants to hear that story come find me later.” Caduceus nodded sagely, “Beau and Yasha, you guys have some things to say, right?”

They both nodded.

“Well then, join hands. Beau do you want to go first?”

“Oh shit, okay. Um,” Beau turned towards Yasha, grabbing her hands and taking a deep breath she began to talk. “Yasha, when we first met I was angry, about a lot of things. I wasn’t very good at opening up to people, mostly I just pushed them away. I guess I had decided that there’s no point getting close to people you’re just gonna lose. But then I did lose you, and I realised that despite how hard I’d worked against it that I cared about it. Cause I cared about you. I guess you taught me that there are some things… some people... you gotta fight for. I’m glad that you saw me even through my anger and managed to get under my skin. I’m glad that you forced me to care. So I promise to always fight for you, because you’re worth fighting for, and I promise to live for you, so long as you’ll promise the same.”

“I will” Yasha smiled as though sharing a private joke.

“Wonderful,” Caduceus smiled as Beau fumbled a ring out of her jacket pocket and slid it onto Yasha’s finger. “Yasha?”

“There was a time when I couldn’t remember what it felt like for my heart not to be broken. I was lost and lonely and I thought I wouldn’t survive losing someone else. But then I did and I almost ran away for good, but the thought of you and our little family kept bringing me back. When I wandered or when I lost myself completely I always found myself drawn back to you. You were my anchor as I worked out how to be in the world with my sorrow and my guilt and my anger. I’ve always said I don’t believe in luck, but I do feel very lucky to have met you, Beau. I love you.”

“Love you too.” Beau shifted her hand to allow Yasha to slide a ring onto her finger.

“Now then,” Caduceus stooped to pick up a small bowl of powder and with a quick flick of the wrist threw a shower of silver dust over Beau and Yasha. He touched each of them on the shoulder and vines began to creep around their joined hands, erupting into flowers as they leant towards each other and kissed. The guests erupted into applause and cheers, almost drowned out by a sudden roll of thunder in the cloudless sky. A second later TJ nearly jumped out of his skin as a series of jars on the ground burst into a shower of sparks. He winced slightly as a shard of broken pot smacked into his shin and looked over to notice the rest of the front row had instinctively raised their arms to protect their faces. TJ found himself laughing out loud, gently shifting Frumpkin onto the chair as he stood up to join in the cheering.

“About bloody time!” That sounded like Molly.

Yasha and Beau broke apart, grinning from ear to ear.


	17. The Wedding part 2

The fiddler started up again as Beau and Yasha stepped together down into what almost instantly became a scrum as the entire front row ran over to hug them both. TJ stood back and watched as the little knot of people grabbed at each other and spun around. As they drew apart Beau was hastily scrubbing a tear from the corner of her eye with one hand, the other firmly holding onto Yasha. Their joy was contagious, even more so when Beau glanced over and beckoned for TJ to come over. She threw her free arm around his shoulder and ruffled his hair.

“Get in here, dude, this is how a proper family works!”

The little knot of people dispersed slightly, allowing other guests to swarm around and congratulate the happy couple, TJ found himself being introduced to a string of people whose names he had no hope of remembering. But all of them greeted him with a joyful enthusiasm that he almost didn’t feel worthy of.

After what felt like thousands of people TJs face was starting to ache from maintaining his smile. The group finally began to drift back towards the Chateau where, he was told, there was going to be food. TJ felt a hand land on his shoulder and he and Beau stopped to find Essek hovering beside them, smiling softly.

“TJ, I was hoping you might assist me with the chairs. We did promise the beach would be tidied once we were done.”

“Oh, yeah sure. That alright TJ?” Beau dropped her arm from around his shoulders.

“Yeah, of course. I’ll catch up in a bit.” TJ was secretly a little bit relieved. 

Beau jogged to catch up with Yasha, leaving TJ and Essek alone on an empty beach. He let out a long breath.

“Apologies if I was presumptuous, but I thought you looked like you could benefit from a moment’s peace.” Essek dropped to his feet, folding himself into one of the empty chairs. “The Mighty Nein are wonderful people. But they can be somewhat overwhelming to the uninitiated. Or even those who have known them for over a decade.”

TJ laughed softly, falling back into another seat and scrubbing at his face.

“I don’t quite know what I did to deserve them.”

“I know the feeling.” Essek smiled ruefully, “I’ve done some terrible things in my life, TJ. Terrible, stupid, unforgivable things. I thought myself irredeemable for a long time, some days I still do.”

“What did you…”

“The list is long and to be frank I’d rather not spoil the day.” Essek said dryly before he could finish asking, “The point is that I tried cutting myself off from people, but there is no cutting yourself off from the Mighty Nein. If they want to be your friend, they will be. You have no say in the matter. These people have befriended Pirates and Hags and Rulers of Foreign Nations and International Traitors.”

TJ was sure his horror must show on his face.

“It can be scary, letting the Mighty Nein get under your skin, as I say, they’re a lot.” He smiled gently, “But it’s worth it. I promise you, it’s so worth it.”

“Yeah?” TJ ran his hands through his hair, trying to flatten the place where Beau had ruffled it. “I’ve never really had friends before.”

“It’s easier than it looks. With these people it’s more about surrendering to their love. They’re likely to give it to you regardless.”

“I think I can do that.” TJ said with a small smile.

“Good, I -” Essek broke off, cocking his head to one side with a fond smile spreading over his face, “Okay, love. We’ll be there soon.” He looked back to TJ’s confused expression. “Jester says they’re just setting up the food and apparently if we don’t hurry she’s going to eat all the cupcakes for us.”

“Oh, right. We were supposed to be moving the chairs.” TJ stood up and began to fold his chair.

“Not to worry.” Essek stood and with a wave of his hand and a muttered incantation the chairs all rose from the ground and folded themselves into a neat pile next to the archway. “Caduceus will have to deal with the archway, I have never quite seen eye to eye with plants.”

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Beau glanced up as TJ and Essek walked through the door and made their way over to the buffet table. The pair were smiling and talking, she was pleased to see TJ getting along with her friends. He certainly seemed to be making an impression, Jester had spent a full hour while she was getting ready talking about him. It was strange, Beau thought, she had thought countless times over the years about TJ. Wondering what he would be like. Feeling guilty for leaving him in Kamordah. And she had left him, really. She knew what life had been like for her in that house and knew his life was unlikely to be better there. It was her own issues that kept her away, but maybe she should have put up with it for him.

“What are you thinking?” Yasha lay her hand on Beau’s forearm, following her eye-line to where TJ was now standing in a little group with Essek and Jester.

“Am I a bad sister?” Beau turned to her new wife, smiling as she saw the new ring on the hand resting on her arm. “Don’t just say no, cause I’m pretty sure I am.”

“Why would you be a bad sister?”

“Well, because I just sort of left him in Kamordah with Thoreau. I always kind of wondered about him, but I never went to check.” Beau tangled her fingers with Yasha’s, “I don’t know, maybe we should have just kidnapped him back when we had to visit about the hag.”

Yasha let out a little laugh

“What’s so funny?”

“Can you imagine us trying to bring up a child back then? We could barely keep ourselves alive.”

“Well maybe we should have visited him more. I thought about it, but I guess I was too much of a coward to-”

“No.” Yasha shook her head, gripping Beau’s had tighter. “I saw you in that house, you were right not to go back.”

“But what about TJ.”

“Beau, you cannot change the past. You’ll drive yourself mad wondering what you could have done differently. But TJ is here now, you can start here.” Yasha pressed a kiss to the side of Beau's head. “Guilt like that can eat you alive, trust me, if you waste time regretting what happened before, you’ll miss out on now.” she pointed over to where TJ was now laughing at something Jester was saying.

Beau nodded. As she watched, TJ looked over and waved as he caught her eye. He said something to Jester and walked over to the table Beau and Yasha were sat at.

“Hey guys. I, um, here.” He fished inside his jacket and pulled out a green envelope, holding it out to Beau looking slightly embarrassed. “It’s not much but… happy wedding?”

Beau carefully slit the envelope open. Immediately a cascade of glitter fell out all over the table.

“Oh, uh. Jester caught me making it and let me borrow her glitter. I think I probably used too much, the lid wasn’t screwed on properly”

Inside was a card made on folded green paper with the words ‘Happy Wedding’ written across it in careful print. Beau found herself tearing up unexpectedly as she flipped it open, Yasha leaning over her shoulder to read too.

"Dear Beau and Yasha,

Happy Wedding!

Thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of your day and inspiring me to find a new path in life. I don’t really know what the future holds for me now but I hope the both of you are in it.

Love TJ x"

Beau looked up to see TJ awkwardly shifting from foot to foot.

“I mean, it’s not much. I wanted to make you a birthday card or something but then I realised I don’t even know when your birthday is so -”

“TJ.” he stopped talking as Beau stood up. “It’s beautiful, man.”

She pulled him into a hug. Whatever his future was, she was determined to be in it. There was no way he was getting rid of her now.


	18. The Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-wedding TJ is contemplating what the hell to do next.
> 
> (Brief mention of fantasy racism)

The next morning was very quiet at the Lavish Chateau, the wedding party had continued long into the night and TJ was sure most of the guests were going to be extremely hung over and cursing the name Mollymauk. It was well past noon when he himself made his way downstairs to find an impossibly chipper Jester talking a mile a minute while a decidedly less chipper Caleb and Essek picked at their lunch (breakfast?) and listened.  
“Oooh TJ!” She called as she spotted him, “Come, have a seat. We’ve got a ton of pastries left over from yesterday!”

TJ headed over to the table, sitting down beside Essek as he was presented with what looked like a cupcake covered in crushed gemstones.

“Oh, don’t worry. It’s just sugar dyed purple, it’s not real stones.” Jester informed him cheerily, “These are a delicacy over in Marquet but there’s a bakery in town who make them too. You have to try it, it’s really good!”

To be fair, it was very good, and very very sweet. TJ took a few hesitant bites, resolving to eat it very slowly between sips of the tea Caduceus came out of the kitchen to hand him. He glanced over at Essek who gave him a helpless smile. Jester had returned to chatting at them, breaking off again when Beau and Yasha came walking down the stairs and pulled up chairs.

“Oooh, you two slept in late.” She grinned, pulling suggestive faces as they helped themselves to breakfast.

“Well, we were very tired after last night.” Yasha shrugged, taking a bite of her own pastry but TJ could see the smile in her eyes as Jester let out a wolf whistle and Beau choked on her drink. “What? It was a late night.”

“You’re awfully cheerful in the mornings, Jester.”

“No I’m not, you’re just hung over this afternoon.” Jester said deliberately loudly.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

It was probably the nicest family breakfast/lunch TJ had ever been a part of. In place of heavy silence or continuous criticism was laughter. No-one cared if you spoke with your mouth full, there was no cutlery at all, by the time Luc and his parents dropped in half the people weren’t even sat up at the table. TJ eventually gave up his chair so Jesters mother could sit down and instead sprawled on the floor with Veth and Luc, Frumpkin asleep in his lap.

“What are your plans now, TJ?” Veth asked, “Do you have a place to go? Money?”

“I don’t really know.” TJ admitted, “I have a little bit of money, I guess I’ll find a job somewhere.”

“You shouldn’t have too much trouble with that, strapping young man like you.”

“It’s true, TJ. If you need work we could use you on board the Ball Eater.” Fjord chipped in from his chair near the table, and then at TJ’s confused look. “My ship, it’s… my ship is called the Ball Eater. It’s a long story.”

“He used to eat balls, it was a whole thing.” Veth grinned as Fjord blushed and took a gulp from his cup of tea.

TJ thought about it, he’d never been on a boat before but maybe that could be good. He was good at lifting things, he knew that.

“We don’t ship out again for another month so you have time to decide.” Fjord added, “I’d be careful though, Veth might try to adopt you.”

“I’m not going to just ado-”

“Caleb, Kiri, Essek-” Fjord began counting on his fingers.

“Shut up.”

“Really though, TJ. We’re heading back to our home in Xhorhas this evening. You’d be more than welcome to join us, at least until you decide what to do next.”

“That would be brilliant, Fjord. Thankyou.” TJ felt a knot in his stomach loosen, he had packed up his things in his room at the Chateau this morning and was slightly worried about where he would have gone when the others left. Maybe back to the Withered Bird.

“Of course! There’s always plenty of room.”

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

TJ had never been to Xhorhas before, he had grown up hearing of it, the savage lands on the other side of the Ashkeeper Peaks who had been tamed into a more civilised nation by the Empire. This somewhat biased explanation clearly had not prepared him for arriving in Rosohna. They travelled via teleportation circle directly from the Lavish Chateau which TJ was slightly disappointed about, he had been hoping for one last look at the sea.

After the strange sensation of teleportation TJ found they were in a large room with many doors leading off it and a beautiful silver pattern inlaid into the floor. Fjord led the way up a staircase into a hallway that seemed to go on forever in both directions. It looked to be carved from opaque quartz. Glowing blue orbs lit the entire thing making the place feel slightly unreal.

Beau noticed TJs mouth hanging open.

“They call this place the Underarches. It’s underneath the big political building where the Bright Queen lives. Prettier than any building in the Empire, huh?”

“I’ll say.” TJ thought of the dull, rain soaked buildings of Kamordah. Compared to this place they seemed almost primitive. “And the Empire call these people the savages.”

“They’re still doing that?”

“Not officially, but you know how Dad is. Ten years of peace and a prosperous trading relationship wont stop him being racist.”

Beau frowned.

“Good job we’re getting you out to see the world. Although if you think this is impressive, wait til you see the Xhorhaus. It’s a whole different type of impressive!”

Behind them someone sniggered.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Beau had been right, the Xhorhaus was a whole different type of impressive. TJ had been surprised to find the entire city of Rosohna was contained within a bubble of twilight. (“We drow find the sun more bothersome than other races.” Essek explained) But that surprise was quickly eclipsed as the group walked around the corner into what seemed to be a relatively normal neighborhood and TJ saw a house in the middle of the street with a large tree growing on the roof. Not only a tree growing on the roof but a tree adorned in little points of light that let out a faint glow. As though the house was a beacon drawing people in and indeed people on the street turned to look at it as they passed. Fjord lead them right up to the glowing house, pushing the door open with a loud jangling sound as strips of copper piping above the door were jostled together.

“Home sweet home!” Beau stepped inside, dumping her bag by the door and stretching her arms over her head. “Hey Caleb, can you light the hot tub, I want to give TJ the tour.”

TJ looked around, like Beau’s quarters at the Cobalt Soul there were murals painted on all of the walls. This room seemed to be a landscape of a volcanic island. Beau led him through a training room into what she called the Lab and then…

“This used to be Calebs room but then he got too many books so it’s just the library. He sleeps upstairs these days anyway.”

There was a large dining room, a kitchen where Caduceus was already lighting the flame under a teapot and, inexplicably, a hot tub in what TJ assumed was the bottom of the tree tower. There was already a slight steam coming off the water

“Here, I’ll show you Duceus’ garden next. It’s kind of my favourite part of the house.” Beau led him up the stairs to a room that was full of a tangle of roots, digging into the walls and dangling into the space. Then up a ladder into the strangest garden TJ had ever seen. Lit by strings of lights in the tree was the biggest collection of different plants TJ had ever seen. Flowers of every colour crowded flowerbeds around the edges of the tower, interspersed between different herbs and mushrooms. The tree itself had mushrooms growing on the trunk and little shrines hanging from the lower branches. Each of the lower branches seemed to grow different fruit as though many different trees had been spliced together. And best of all, not a grape in sight!

“This place is amazing.” TJ Walked to the edge where trailing vines were pouring over the wall and down the side of the tower.

“It’s our little patch of light.” Beau shrugged, leaning against the tree and looking up into the twinkling canopy. “The city is great, especially now they’re less weird about humans wandering around, but the perpetual night time can get a bit old. I’m sure it’s very clever and magical and shit but you miss the sun eventually.”

“Eh, I’m used to never seeing the sun. I grew up in Kamordah, remember?”

“God, that place.” Beau snorted, “You know I didn’t really believe that stars existed until the first time I snuck away to Zadash. I thought it was one of those things people made up in kids books.”

“You used to sneak away to Zadash? Wasn’t that scary on your own?”

“The first time I guess, but I never tried it alone, I had this friend. Tori. We used to go together.” Beau grinned “Proper little criminals we were.”

“I heard something about turning spoons into lock picks?”

“Was that old Denny? Man, he was pretty cool. Used to tip him not to rat on us. We had a pretty good trade in low quality lock picks going for a while.” Beau shook her head, “I don’t know that I’d have survived in that place as long as I did without Tori and our schemes. Any excuse to get out of the house.”

“Oh!” TJ shucked his bag odd his back and fished around in it, pulling out the old notebook. “I found this under the floor in my room. Your room too, I guess. I could never figure out how to read it.”

“Oh damn! This was my old order book.” Beau took the notebook from him and flipped through the pages. “I used to steal crates of Dads wine and sell it at cost. See, the symbols are different clients and the numbers are the order quantities and price but I wrote them in backwards so it would make less sense to other people and… It’s super nerdy, I know.”

“No, that’s awesome! So what about the bit in the back that’s all symbols?”

“Hm?” Beau flipped to the back. “I think…” She traced a finger over a couple of rows of symbols, starting in the bottom right hand corner, “Yeah, this is my notes from when I was trying to dig up dirt on some assholes in town. This guy was like the local politician and I pretended to be a house maid at his place for a bit and figured out he and his wife were both cheating. Managed to blackmail a tidy sum of gold out of them before they ended up divorced.”

“You… what?”

“Look, I’m not particularly proud of it. I wasn’t an amazing person back then. I’m probably not much better now but at least I don’t break up too many marriages anymore.” She sighed, “I try to help people more than I hurt them these days.”

“Well, I don’t know about all of your criminal past,” TJ smiled, “But your escape rope certainly came in handy.”

“Oh shit, that was still there? I would have thought they’d rip that room apart to figure out how I’d been escaping!”

“Apparently they didn’t do a particularly good job. Not that I’m complaining!”

“C’mon, I’ll show you to your room.”

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

TJ was shown a series of bedrooms and something called the “War Room”, although the big table in the middle seemed to be covered in paints rather than anything else.

“...and this one is your room.” Beau pushed open the door to the final bedroom. It was bigger than his room at home and one of the walls was rounded where it was right next to the tower. TJ dumped his bag on the floor, looking around the room. “It’s kind of basic, it used to be the guest room but then the only guests we ever had were Yeza and Essek and they both stayed in other rooms so no-one ever really needed this one. I think Dairon slept in it for a while, but we can get some different furniture or whatever…”

“It’s perfect, Beau. Really. I love it.”

“Well, it’s yours as long as you want it.” Beau grinned. “I’ll let you get your stuff sorted, probably be in the hot tub if you need me.”

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The house was quiet as TJ made his way downstairs a little later, he could smell freshly brewed tea from the kitchen and the splashing made it sound like everyone was probably in the hot tub. He poked his head into the training room, and jumped for a second before realising the humanoid figure stood in the corner was just a training dummy. It looked well used, even with magical mending there was sawdust spilling out of a hole where a throwing star was sticking out of the back. He dragged it out into the centre of the room, wedging the throwing star loose so he could have a go but stopped dead when he saw the face painted on it.

It was supposed to be Thoreau, he could tell from the hair, though the paint seemed old and was flaking off in places. What was left of his face looked almost cartoonishly angry. Like a caricature of the man, although it looked disturbingly like the last time TJ had seen him. He laughed quietly, seeing how Beau had seemingly turned her punch bag into her least favourite person. He threw a half-hearted punch at it, watching it wobble in place. Then another, right in the painted face. This time when he drew his hand away there were flakes of paint stuck to his knuckles.

He laughed again, landing punch after punch on the dummy until it fell to the floor with a loud crash, shaking him from his focus. He stood, panting as he looked down at it.

“Do you feel better?”

TJ almost jumped out of his skin, turning around guiltily to see Yasha stood in the doorway, leaning calmly against the frame.

“How long have you been standing there?”

“A while.” Yasha shrugged, “Your form is sloppy but you hit hard. You’d make one hell of a monk.”

“I thought monks were supposed to be all calm and meditative?” TJ didn’t feel calm or meditative.

“How do you feel then, TJ? When you’re fighting?”

“Angry.” He replied simply. Because he couldn’t think of a better word to sum up the feeling. The rush of furious adrenaline that seemed to empower him to feats he didn’t think himself capable of.

“Really?” Absurdly Yasha was smiling.

“How do I stop being angry?”

“Sometimes you don’t. I never did. But I found a purpose for my rage.”

Rage. That was a better word for it.

“A purpose?”

“Rage is… once it finds you it sits under your skin. For a long time it was like the storm and I fought to keep it under control. But eventually I found that I could use it. In service of my god, and to protect my friends. My family.”

TJ nodded, brushing flakes of paint off his hands.

“I could show you, if you would like.” Yasha offered, walking over to stand the dummy back up.

“Yeah. Yeah, I think I’d like that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End!  
> Might write more about TJ at some point, I have Ideas!
> 
> Gotta say another massive thankyou to Laura and Nadia for cheering me on writing this. Also to people who commented saying they were enjoying the story! I'd only written 3/4 when I started posting and y'all inspired me to actually finish it!  
> I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed making up stories!


End file.
